Burrows to meet with the NHL over Tootoo incident

[PG Canuck]

Some might. I'd think it would be meh.

Well, realistically, why would it bother us? Why should it? Because they were Canucks? Let's be real, if that happened, this board would crash with all the outrage. A lot of people would get offended, but really should they? Unless they knew them personally, then there is no reason for a backlash if it happened.

Wasn't the greatest comparison.

 

[Fat Tony]

Why Canucks fans go to the mainboard for this kind of stuff is beyond me.

Yeah. I don't get any kind of defending of players' character where the basis of that defense Is that he plays for the team you cheer for, if you're really honest with yourself.

 

[PG Canuck]

Yeah. I don't get any kind of defending of players' character where the basis of that defense Is that he plays for the team you cheer for, if you're really honest with yourself.

I'm sorry as this will offend some posters because I know it will, but posters on the mainboards are right..100% right. I know I'll never get a truthful answer because if I get an honest answer, it'll just show clear bias towards Burrows, but if this was Marchand, do you think anyone here would be defending him? Maybe a small minority, but I 100% guarantee you the majority would be saying what the mainboarders were saying about Burrows.

"piece of ****", "I hate that ****ing stupid ass ****ing loser", "I knew he was this classless...just another reason to hate Marchand" etc

I am fully prepared to get quoted near 5-10 times from posters saying "Nooooo, you are 100% wrong, I would not change my stance even if it were Marchand" because it would show they are just defending Burrows because Burrows is our own.

I don't see how this is acceptable, but this is the kind of society we live in. I get trash talk happens, I've played the sport of hockey and I've trashtalked before, but I've never gone near as far as Burrows did, nor thought of it, even when I was a teenage boy with raging emotions etc. It takes a special kind of person to go there.

I would not defend Marchand if this happened to him so I sure as hell will not defend Burrows just because he is a Canuck. As you said, when the basis of your defense is that he is a Canuck and that people should "grow thicker skin" is grasping at straws to save face for Burrows and us that cheer for him.

 

[DFAC]

I didn't like Kesler, either. Or Lapierre.

Man, I love(d) Kes, Lapierre and Burr.

 

[thefeebster]

Just read about this Sullivan incident, i find it rather indefensible if true.

 

[Pip]

We are talking about a game played by alpha males with an alleged history of rape culture and hazing in junior.

This is indefensible?

This era of political correctness is out of control. Can we all just agree this alleged comment was in poor taste and leave it at that? This is not the most insensitive thing that has ever been uttered to an NHL player. It doesn't warrant this level of outrage.

The timing does seem suspect. If this happened 10 years ago why is O'Sullivan only talking about it now while he's doing a book tour? He's been holding on to that issue with Burrows for that long?

Hockey culture needs to change. The fact this this comment may or may not be the worst thing said is ****ing embarrassing.

 

[Rotting Corpse*]

This era of political correctness is out of control.

This quote could have literally come from any year in the past 100.

 

[crazychimp]

The full quote below, at least he owned it and apologized.

It was the best a Canuck has looked in weeks.

Alex Burrows, again accused of violating moral principles during a hockey game, said he’s sorry.

People will debate his sincerity. They will accuse him of apologizing only because he’s been forced to, after Patrick O’Sullivan, a child abuse survivor, revealed Burrows leveraged O’Sullivan’s horrific experience as a kid to try and get an advantage in a hockey game.

“Back then, I didn’t know the magnitude of it,†Burrows said. “I read his story on the Player’s Tribune last week. I saw how bad he had it. It was tough to see, for sure.

“Now, looking back, older, more mature, I can see how it would have offended him. I do regret a lot of things I said back in the day.

“I apologize if it offended him.â€

Burrows went on to describe the type of player he was a decade ago, the undrafted, ECHL graduate who was looking for any angle in a desperate, at times ill-conceived, attempt to gain an edge, or even favour with his NHL coach. If he could draw a penalty, and it meant crossing the lines of civility, so be it.

“It’s tough, in the heat of the moment, especially when I first came in,†Burrows said. “I wanted to help any way I could. If I could get one guy off his game, and get in someone’s kitchen, I was willing to do it to help our team, and maybe get on the power play.

“(O’Sullivan) was a great player. He was one of those guys who could score a lot of goals. He was flashy. He had good skills. He had good hands. For sure, sometimes I tried to get in his kitchen and get him off his game.â€

“At that time, I believed in doing whatever it took to stay in the league. If I had to get in people’s kitchens or get in people’s heads. I was ready to do it just to help the team.â€

“Now, getting older, I realize some of it I shouldn’t have said.â€

http://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/1...urrows-and-henriks-finest-moment-of-the-year/

 

[jimmythescot]

I know I said some pretty terrible things to people when I was in my late teens/early twenties. I'm about the same age as Burrows and I didn't realise at the time that PTSD wasn't just a thing soldiers got. It wasn't that long ago that the R-word was considered 'funny'. It took an international campaign to rail against it being used. I never said anything about child abuse, but I distinctly remember others joking about it.

Anyway, I don't condone anything said, but I can 100% believe that Burrows didn't realise just how damaging his words were.

 

[VanillaCoke]

Well thread over I guess. Thank god.

 

[Bougieman]

It's a good apology. I forgive him. I dunno if Sullivan will... but that's up to him, not us.

 

[MikeK]

I know I said some pretty terrible things to people when I was in my late teens/early twenties. I'm about the same age as Burrows and I didn't realise at the time that PTSD wasn't just a thing soldiers got. It wasn't that long ago that the R-word was considered 'funny'. It took an international campaign to rail against it being used. I never said anything about child abuse, but I distinctly remember others joking about it.

Anyway, I don't condone anything said, but I can 100% believe that Burrows didn't realise just how damaging his words were.

Agreed. I'm not even close to the same person I was when I was 20something. I can totally get what Burrows is saying. I give him credit for owning it publicly and not hiding from it like a lot of people do. This isn't for any of us to judge. It's between POS and Burrows.

 

[Son of Frostback]

We as hockey fans need to choose either:

"Words can't hurt you. Keep it on the ice. Solve it with your fists. Stop being a ***. This isn't the Ice Capades, etc."

or

"Hockey players are so honourable! Look at how they give back to the community! Look at how they break their ankles and keep playing! They're nothing like those - ugh - thugs in the NBA!"

Because believing both is honestly kind of stupid. As far as I can tell, hockey's "code of honour" is primarily invested in allowing dumb farm boys to act like dumb farm boys and punishing everyone else for not doing so. Burrows is a ******. You can be a Canucks fan and still believe that.

 

[Seattle Totems]

We as hockey fans need to choose either:

"Words can't hurt you. Keep it on the ice. Solve it with your fists. Stop being a ***. This isn't the Ice Capades, etc."

or

"Hockey players are so honourable! Look at how they give back to the community! Look at how they break their ankles and keep playing! They're nothing like those - ugh - thugs in the NBA!"

Because believing both is honestly kind of stupid. As far as I can tell, hockey's "code of honour" is primarily invested in allowing dumb farm boys to act like dumb farm boys and punishing everyone else for not doing so. Burrows is a ******. You can be a Canucks fan and still believe that.

I agree with your point but we as hockey fans don't need to do anything. It's the players that need to stand up and say this is not ok. It's their culture and their problem.

This is what bothers me such much about all of this. Everyone loves to make a big public display and shout obscenities at a distant public figure so they can feel better about themselves but in real life most would never stand up for someone else who has been bullied.

Let's be realistic here. Most people have probably been bullied at some point or experienced some type of abuse in their life. Not everyone is lucky enough to play in the NHL and have a platform to talk about it. I guarantee most people don't give a crap about them.

 

[TruGr1t]

This happened ten years ago in the AHL?? You will never be able to police what is said at the minor league level. Ever. It is worse than you can possibly imagine.

 

[Chairman Maouth]

I don't care what the source of the insult is or what it's about. It could be about something 100 times worse than what O'Sullivan went through. You should not let words said on the ice hurt you.

 

[Trelane]

It's a good apology. I forgive him. I dunno if Sullivan will... but that's up to him, not us.

You forgive him. Really? I'm sorry, was there like a cascade of feelings being hurt originating from the Burrows chirp to Sullivan and impacting any gentle soul that caught a whiff of the story.

Genuine apology is always a matter between the parties involved and no one else.

Apology first solicited and obtained on account of social pressure amounts to no apology at all. Never much cared for the obligatory "sorry" from any wrongdoer, and neither does any man I think highly of. Change in subsequent behaviour--as in don't do it again or do it differently--is the test of it and counts for far more than any cheap words. Deeds >>> words/feelings.

When some future historian does autopsy on our civilization I trust the impact of Oprah and the hug it out culture will be given its due credit. In the meantime, since feelings accompany all human endeavours and there is no limit to the potential for hurt, even apparently in the context of a hockey game, we're sure to be entertained.

 

[Pip]

I don't care what the source of the insult is or what it's about. It could be about something 100 times worse than what O'Sullivan went through. You should not let words said on the ice hurt you.

I really don't think you're in any position to tell O'Sullivan what he is allowed to be hurt by.

 

[Cupless44]

Time to take the blinder homer glasses off.

Burrows has earned every inch of his reputation around the league as a puke. From slurs, to biting, to diving, to mouthing off to refs, to late cheap hits, he is what he is.

What he isn't is worth 4.5 million for the last 3 years. I would have been just fine if Torts got his way to buy him out. Tired of his act, and now that he doesn't do anything out there, it is all the more embarrassing.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

you're both ppl on an internet mesage board. he is exactly in the prime position to judge you.

on the other hand, good luck telling o'sullivan anything he'll ever hear.

 

[lawrence]

I already sent Patrick O Sullivan a message about being a man and moving on. What happens on the ice "stays on the ice", not to mention using twitter of attacking a NHL player with hopes of getting back at him. That's immaturity if you ask me. It's like for example of

David Backes goes on Twitter crying about what Kesler said about his wife 6 years ago. it's exactly like that.

 

[crazychimp]

Watched SC today Patrick basically said if his apology is sincere and if he means it he will donate his time to local child abuse prevention programs in the local city. Which I think is a fair response. Burr definitely crossed a line with this one be it 8-10 years ago and maybe it was survival instict to stay in the league but there are things you just don't say.

 

[CpatainCanuck]

It was the best a Canuck has looked in weeks.

Alex Burrows, again accused of violating moral principles during a hockey game, said he’s sorry.

People will debate his sincerity. They will accuse him of apologizing only because he’s been forced to, after Patrick O’Sullivan, a child abuse survivor, revealed Burrows leveraged O’Sullivan’s horrific experience as a kid to try and get an advantage in a hockey game.

“Back then, I didn’t know the magnitude of it,†Burrows said. “I read his story on the Player’s Tribune last week. I saw how bad he had it. It was tough to see, for sure.

“Now, looking back, older, more mature, I can see how it would have offended him. I do regret a lot of things I said back in the day.

“I apologize if it offended him.â€

Burrows went on to describe the type of player he was a decade ago, the undrafted, ECHL graduate who was looking for any angle in a desperate, at times ill-conceived, attempt to gain an edge, or even favour with his NHL coach. If he could draw a penalty, and it meant crossing the lines of civility, so be it.

“It’s tough, in the heat of the moment, especially when I first came in,†Burrows said. “I wanted to help any way I could. If I could get one guy off his game, and get in someone’s kitchen, I was willing to do it to help our team, and maybe get on the power play.

“(O’Sullivan) was a great player. He was one of those guys who could score a lot of goals. He was flashy. He had good skills. He had good hands. For sure, sometimes I tried to get in his kitchen and get him off his game.â€

“At that time, I believed in doing whatever it took to stay in the league. If I had to get in people’s kitchens or get in people’s heads. I was ready to do it just to help the team.â€

“Now, getting older, I realize some of it I shouldn’t have said.â€

http://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/12...t-of-the-year/

How much of O'Sullivan's abuse was public knowledge 10 years ago? Genuinely curious. People are judging Burrows' trash talk based on the full revelation of the abuse O'Sullivan suffered, but that would be kind of unfair to Burrows if at the time if, for arguments sake, there was just a rumour that his dad beat him a few times.

In any case, Burrows crossed the line. But perhaps he wasn't as malicious as it appears in hindsight.

 

[MarkMM]

Glad to see the apology, good enough for me.

 

[peanutflower]

Watched SC today Patrick basically said if his apology is sincere and if he means it he will donate his time to local child abuse prevention programs in the local city. Which I think is a fair response. Burr definitely crossed a line with this one be it 8-10 years ago and maybe it was survival instict to stay in the league but there are things you just don't say.

he's gotta be joking. seriously. let it go. Oh, I guess he can't let it go as he just wrote a book about it. This whole thing is just ridiculous. Burrows is no saint. but this is a decade ago.