Is apology enough to excuse Burrows from taunting O'Sullivan about abuse?
Former NHL player Patrick O'Sullivan recently opened up about his harrowing experience with his abusive father, and on Thursday, he revealed on Twitter that years ago, one NHL player had actually taunted O'Sullivan during games about the abuse. That player was none other than Vancouver Canucks forward Alexander Burrows, who was also recently accused of verbally attacking Jordin Tootoo about his heritage and family issues.
Burrows denied crossing the line with Tootoo, but he admitted to reporters Thursday that he had made remarks to O'Sullivan about O'Sullivan's abusive father.
@TheNHLisCrazy @PuckLuck1 @BruceIsOnline @vijayk416 Burrows only guy who said he wanted to hurt me like me father did-why I can't stand him
— Patrick O'Sullivan (@realPOSULLIVAN) December 17, 2015
Right to my face, twice actually. Once in the minors and once in Vancouver early in my career. https://t.co/HmoMg8bZKp
— Patrick O'Sullivan (@realPOSULLIVAN) December 17, 2015
Via SportsNet:
Burrows said he only recently learned via O'Sullivan's account in The Players' Tribune just how extensively O'Sullivan's father abused him, but it is clear that by saying "I want to hurt you like your father did" that Burrows understood O'Sullivan's father had abused him in some way.
"I see that it was bigger than what I really thought back then,” Burrows told reporters. “I apologize if I offended him back then. Especially when I first came in [to the NHL], I was playing six or seven minutes a night on the fourth line and I wanted to help any way I could. And 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 or maybe get [us] on the power play."
Burrows' apology did not satisfy many NHL fans and reporters. The nature of Burrows' remarks to O'Sullivan and his history of taunting had many people speaking out against Burrows via Twitter on Thursday, and some called for the NHL to do something.
Vancouver Province writer Ed Willies wrote that Burrows' remarks to O'Sullivan and defense that Burrows made those comments in order to help his team win shows an ugly side of sports that people need to start to change.
O'Sullivan has not played an NHL game in over four years and Burrows' comments were made such a long time ago that it is not nearly as simple to punish him for them now as people want to believe. But just as O'Sullivan shared his story as an abused child to help others who might currently be abused, perhaps the publicized situation with Burrows could help other NHLers who face on-ice taunting which crosses way over the line of human decency.
The game’s mythology, of course, is filled with stories of coaches and players who would employ any angle in pursuit of victory. That’s certainly part of Burrows’ narrative. The same, moreover, can be said of any sport and any number of larger-than-life figures who pushed the boundaries of acceptable behaviour in the name of winning.
And maybe that’s the problem here. We accept behaviour in our playing fields which would invite public censure elsewhere. We dismiss it as looking for an edge. There are times we celebrate it. ...
You will also hear whatever happens on the ice should stay on the ice, and you’ll hear it in connection with this incident. That, too, is part of the game’s lore.
But while we’re trotting out bromides, here’s another one to consider.
Evil prospers when good men do nothing.
