It happened the day before Veterans Day, but the chief embarrassment here is not the attack by a veteran on a Greek Orthodox priest with a tire iron, but the whiney excuses made by the lawyer for Lance Cpl. Jasen Bruce. Here they are, from the Associated Press:

Jeff Brown said Lance Cpl. Jasen Bruce, 28, had been followed into the parking garage of his Tampa apartment building about 6:30 p.m. Monday by the Rev. Alexios Marakis, who then made sexual comments and grabbed the reservist’s genitals. Brown denounced the Tampa Police Department’s account of the incident as “one-sided” and “tainted.”

“We are confident that the surveillance videos, the long 911 call, the eyewitnesses will all conclusively show that Lance Cpl. Bruce was attacked and was the victim in this case,” Brown said.

But the Tampa Police report offered a far different account, saying Marakis was lost when he followed Bruce into the garage and asked for help, then was struck with the tire iron and chased several blocks. When officers arrived, Bruce called Marakis a terrorist and said the priest had shouted “Allahu akbar!” — Arabic for “God is great.”

Tampa Police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said Bruce made no mention of a sexual attack in his 911 call, referencing it later when officers arrived, after offering other excuses for the bloodied man. “One was that he tried to rob him. The other was that he was an Arab terrorist and shouted “Allahu akbar” and he explained that ‘That’s what they say before they blow you up.’ And then he said that he grabbed his genitals and wanted to have sex with him. He gave various accounts of what happened,” she said.

Bruce was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon but released from jail on bond.

I’m betting Jasen Bruce’s business is not going to do well after this attack. And I’m wondering at his fixation on testosterone. Hmm, and he seems on his Linkedin page to have dabbled in Human Growth Hormone. Could we see a roid rage whiney excuse next?

Of course, we are all proud of our veterans on this day. I showed my son the flag that was draped over my Dad’s coffin. It is a solemn day for Americans, not one that should be sullied by idiots like Jasen Bruce. One thing for sure, all veterans ought to be offended by this guys actions and by his whiney excuses.