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ITC's "The Warrior" Declares War On France
The Don Quixote of Hockey Calls for Ban of French National Team and the return of all American and Canadian-born hockey players in the face of a proposed "lifetime ban" in U.S. hockey.

02.19.03 - Readers of "the Warrior," a regular contributor to the hockey magazine In The Crease are familiar with his outrageous swings at minor league players, teams, leagues, and officials. Not content with being the Don Quixote of Hockey, the Warrior has focused his sights on France.

In a general press release to the minor league media, the Warrior called for " the return of all American players currently playing in the French Professional League" and a ban of the French National team in the United States "[d]ue to the recent lack of support from the French Government and the opposition forces led by the French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin to the US efforts to stop terrorism."

The Warrior, who makes Ricky Henderson seem rather modest by comparison, called upon "all Canadian and American born players return to the United States immediately or face lifetime bans from playing professional hockey in the US."

The Warrior asks hockey players to choose sides between freedom and terrorism: "The Warrior has always been able to separate sports from politics but in this time of global terrorist uncertainty a line has to be drawn and sides be chosen between those that support the US Government and those that support terrorists. There can be no middle ground in this effort to make the world a safer place to raise our children."

MLN could find no indication, at this hour, that any of the minor hockey leagues plan to rally behind the Warrior's war cry, sending the Warrior back to the showers and more jousting at the windmills of minor hockey.