Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke made his first public comments Friday about son Brendan's death last week in a car accident.
Brendan, a senior at Miami University and advocate for gay rights, was killed Feb. 5 in Indiana after his car slid sideways into the path of another car on a snowy road. Burke's friend, 18-year-old Mark Reedy, also died in the accident.
``Obviously, last week's been incredibly sad and difficult,'' Burke, also the U.S. Olympic team GM, said before the Maple Leafs played the Blues. ``I've been working all day trying to get through this without breaking down too much.
``You get the call you never want. It's not supposed to be this way. Your kids are supposed to bury you. It was compounded by the fact that Brendan was a special kid. Not too many 21-year-olds had blazed a trail like that. He had a huge heart, had a great future in it, and I promised that his message will live on.
``It was also compounded by the fact that another young man, Mark Reedy, was also involved in the accident, it was compounded by the fact that it was a sudden death. It's been a very difficult week, a very incredibly sad time.''
Burke was scheduled to travel to Vancouver on Saturday for the Olympics. He said his decision to skip the opening ceremonies was easy.
``I wanted to thank the (Leafs) players. I wanted to be here and I met with the players individually and thanked them and the coaches,'' Burke said. ``I felt I should be here. I shouldn't be celebrating the start of the Olympics. We'll start worrying about the Olympics tomorrow. I didn't have it in me. It would have been too tough to do. As proud as I would have been to be there, it would have been an impostor's act. It would have been a person there that's not focused at all.''
