DALLAS -- Rocco Grimaldi seemed to have some spare time on his hands last night as he took to Twitter to espouse some of his thoughts regarding relations between men and women.
Grimaldi, as many Florida fans already know, is very vocal about his faith. He has said he plans on being a pastor some day and hopes to lead his own congregation.
On Thursday, Grimaldi went into his virtual pulpit and his 12 tweet night is getting some national attention led by Yahoo's popular hockey site Puck Daddy.
By the way, if you would like to follow Rocco -- whom the Panthers took in the second round of the 2011 draft -- you can do so at twitter.com/@rgrimaldi23
Here are some of the highlights that have some up in arms (and Grimaldi wrote he would not be apologetic for these in his first post):
-- Ladies, you can help us guys out big time. Put your boobs away and everything else that is hanging out. Guys have a hard enough time with that temptation without u helping it along. When did being a beautiful girl become dressing with the least amount of clothes on?
-- When did what u wear become a competition? Before you dress ask, “Does this outfit honor God, does it honor my body, does it help serve/love my brothers? If it’s a no to any of those questions, then u shouldn’t wear that outfit #ThinkBeforeYouDress
-- Guys, when did sleeping with every girl u can make u a man? Anyone can lay with a woman. And don’t blame the women for how they dress. Don’t say it’s because they want attention. Don’t blame ur “curiosity” or that u just wanted a little taste of what it would be like...
-- Women are not an object for playing with. Sex is a gift from God. We have made it idolatry by how we use it. We blame the women for what glorify ourselves.
-- WE are the men and WE are to blame. God put US in charge of this earth so WE are the ones who need to man up and lay down our lust. Don’t fall into that temptation. If you don’t do this, you may be a boy for the rest of ur life #ManUp
So there you have it.
Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy reported at the draft that some teams were scared away from Grimaldi because of his religious reverence.
He has used Twitter and Facebook to deliver his message and intersperces scripture during almost all of his interviews.
Panthers GM Dale Tallon said he was happy to see Grimaldi available when Florida took him early in the second day of the draft.
Whether it was Grimaldi's overtly vocal religious views or the fact the kid is only 5-foot-6, Tallon still seems very happy to have the North Dakota freshman within the Panthers organization.
When I asked Tallon if the Panthers were going to ask Grimaldi to tone things down, he rolled his eyes. It should also be noted that Panthers president Michael Yormark and Grimaldi are Twitter buddies.
That's doing your homework right there kids.
"Hey, I don't control him. He's free to say what he needs to say,'' Tallon said. "I'm only concerned with what kind of a player he is. What kind of a person he is. So there's no concern there.
"I don't tell my players what to say, what to do. I don't have a problem with this. If this is the way you feel, this is the way you feel.''
Tallon says any thoughts that teammates are going to be turned off by Grimaldi's vocal religious views disappeared at the rookie camp this summer. Grimaldi was the hit of the camp with fans and teammates alike. He was the most popular guy there. They all seemed to dig this kid.
And for those complaining to me about a hockey player "shoving their religious views down my neck" as one wrote in an email, hey, it's his Twitter account. He can write anything he wants on it. Don't like it? Unfollow him. It's the easiest thing to do in the world.
-- Grimaldi's words about women covering up did have some joking on Thursday.
One quipped: "He's in North Dakota. The women are already wearing parkas up there. He wants 'em covered up, they're covered up.''
-- Oh, wonder what Rocco thinks of Jose Theodore's mask?
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