FORMER TENNESSEE TITANS DEFENSIVE LINEMAN ENDORSES NIKKI TINKER FOR CONGRESS
armradio.am
16.07.2008 12:15
Rien Long, who wore number 99 for the Tennessee Titans from 2003 to
2007, is almost at full strength since a near-fatal car accident in
January and is endorsing Nikki Tinker for Congress in Tennessee’s
Ninth Congressional District, ANC-PAC reported.
Tinker is mounting a strong challenge to first-term Congressman Steve
Cohen, who has made a name for himself in Congress by actively denying
the Armenian Genocide, the murder of 1.5 million Armenian Christians
early in the 20th century.
"I am proud to be endorsing Nikki and hope she wins her August 7th
primary race," remarked Rien Long, whose 27th birthday just happens
to be the day of the election.
"I believe Nikki will bring the energy, intellect and integrity the
people of Tennessee’s Ninth Congressional District need and deserve. I
also believe that people like Steve Cohen, who are playing an active
role in blocking legislation in Congress that would mark the first
genocide of the 20th century (Armenian Genocide), have no place in
Congress." Nikki Tinker, like Barack Obama, supports the legislation.
"Sadly, Cohen is an apologist for the Turkish government, which has
never admitted to genocide," Long added.
"My family has been in America for nearly 100 years, because one of
my great-grandfathers escaped the genocide of the Christian minority
of Turkey.
Many of his nieces and nephews were not as lucky."
Long was the subject of a documentary film in 2006, "The Long Journey
from the NFL to Armenia," which chronicled a visit he made to his
ancestral homeland.
"During my trip, I stood just a few miles from the Turkish border and
over that border stood Mt. Ararat, where the Bible says Noah’s Ark
landed in Armenia. That mountain is now in Turkey, which just adds
to the disappointment I have in a person like Congressman Cohen,
who does favors for the foreign government of Turkey, which spends
millions of Turkish tax dollars every year to lobby jaded politicians
against Armenian Genocide recognition," Long added.
"I know Nikki Tinker will not be a lapdog for the Turks like Steve
Cohen, who encourages genocide denial, by fighting congressional
recognition," Long concluded.
Long won college football’s Outland Trophy in 2003, which is awarded
to the best interior lineman. He was then picked in the fourth round
of the NFL draft by the Tennessee Titans and has made Tennessee his
home ever since.
Late in the evening on this year’s Martin Luther King holiday, Long
was behind the wheel during a one-car accident in Nashville. He
was initially listed in critical condition, but has since made a
miraculous recovery. He is in Nashville right now attempting to make
an NFL comeback by as early as this season.