Thank you and good evening. This is a special night for me. Exactly 21 days ago, on February 17th, 2014, I accepted the nomination of my party to run for president of the Versailles Tigers.
I promised you a president who is not isolated from the people, who feels your pain, and who shares your dreams and who draws his strength and his wisdom from you.
During the past 21 days I've spoken to you on many occasions about team concerns, the conditioning crisis, reorganizing the West Coast, our nation's passing game, and issues of ladder rankings and especially winning a league championship. But over those weeks the subjects of the speeches, the talks, and the press conferences have become increasingly narrow, focused more and more on what the isolated world of Versailles thinks is important. Gradually, you've heard more and more about what the government thinks or what the government should be doing and less and less about our nation's hopes, our dreams, and our vision of the future.
In all the decisions I have made in my public life, I have always tried to do what was best for the League. Throughout the long and difficult period of Teamgate, I have felt it was my duty to persevere, to make every possible effort to complete the term of office to which you elected me.
In the past few days, however, it has become evident to me that I no longer have a strong enough political base in the Eris League to justify continuing that effort. As long as there was such a base, I felt strongly that it was necessary to see the constitutional process through to its conclusion, that to do otherwise would be unfaithful to the spirit of that deliberately difficult process and a dangerously destabilizing precedent for the future.
From the discussions I have had with Coaches and other leaders, I have concluded that because of the Winterfell matter I might not have the support of the ladder rankings that I would consider necessary to back the very difficult decisions and carry out the duties of this office in the way the interests of the Team would require.
To those who have stood with me during these past difficult months, to my family, my friends, to many others who joined in supporting my cause because they believed it was right, I will be eternally grateful for your support.
To have served in this office is to have felt a very personal sense of kinship with each and every dot. In leaving it, I do so with this prayer: May God's grace be with you in all the days ahead.
I promised you a president who is not isolated from the people, who feels your pain, and who shares your dreams and who draws his strength and his wisdom from you.
During the past 21 days I've spoken to you on many occasions about team concerns, the conditioning crisis, reorganizing the West Coast, our nation's passing game, and issues of ladder rankings and especially winning a league championship. But over those weeks the subjects of the speeches, the talks, and the press conferences have become increasingly narrow, focused more and more on what the isolated world of Versailles thinks is important. Gradually, you've heard more and more about what the government thinks or what the government should be doing and less and less about our nation's hopes, our dreams, and our vision of the future.
In all the decisions I have made in my public life, I have always tried to do what was best for the League. Throughout the long and difficult period of Teamgate, I have felt it was my duty to persevere, to make every possible effort to complete the term of office to which you elected me.
In the past few days, however, it has become evident to me that I no longer have a strong enough political base in the Eris League to justify continuing that effort. As long as there was such a base, I felt strongly that it was necessary to see the constitutional process through to its conclusion, that to do otherwise would be unfaithful to the spirit of that deliberately difficult process and a dangerously destabilizing precedent for the future.
From the discussions I have had with Coaches and other leaders, I have concluded that because of the Winterfell matter I might not have the support of the ladder rankings that I would consider necessary to back the very difficult decisions and carry out the duties of this office in the way the interests of the Team would require.
To those who have stood with me during these past difficult months, to my family, my friends, to many others who joined in supporting my cause because they believed it was right, I will be eternally grateful for your support.
To have served in this office is to have felt a very personal sense of kinship with each and every dot. In leaving it, I do so with this prayer: May God's grace be with you in all the days ahead.
