Hockey player fired for not signing flag for troops

[Mr. Proulx]

Oh course i agree with freedom of speech but there are some times when it travels along a thin line. Fundamentally the kid shouldnt have been kicked off the team, but to tell you the truth i'm not going to be protesting outside the arena for him to get his skates back on.

 

[GAP]

I would not want the support of someone who gave it to keep his job....it's not support, it's blackmail.

 

[Roy Harding]

I think you're all missing the point.

The kid was let off the team for a lot of reasons, the "flag flap", as distasteful as it is, was IMHO used by the Coach as an excuse - and possibly probably blown out of proportion by the press.  Personally, I think the Coach used the "flag incident" to shield himself from the possible fan backlash - not exactly a courageous stand for a Coach, but apparently an effective one.  I don't think "patriotism" or lack thereof had anything to do with it.

I read the thread on the hockey team's Forum (name escapes me) posted above - it's interesting reading, and the fans of that particular team come across as intelligent, thoughtful folk - kudos to them.

I will admit, however, to being puzzled regarding how anybody could have thought that "someone" had "autographed" something for someone else!

 

[Jaydub]

I don't really agree with him being fired for not signing the flag.  It's not even clear if he's actually against the mission.  I don't think it's right that he's branded as being unpatriotic like it's some sort of witch-hunt.

 

[Roy Harding]

I don't really agree with him being fired for not signing the flag.  It's not even clear if he's actually against the mission.  I don't think it's right that he's branded as being unpatriotic like it's some sort of witch-hunt.

Did you even read my post (just above yours)????

 

[Jaydub]

Did you even read my post (just above yours)????

Yes I did.  My post wasn't really in response to yours, but my thoughts on the whole situation.

 

[Klc]

Freedom of speech?

Whatabout freedom to own a private team that supports the soldiers?

 

[FredDaHead]

Freedom of speech?

Whatabout freedom to own a private team that supports the soldiers?

Nobody told the owners they can't support the troops. Nobody took their team away.

The owners, however, took away the player's position.

 

[Gunner98]

Does a Junior hockey player really get fired?  It is not a paying job as if he were an overpaid professional.  I think it should have read, he was let go or cut from the team.  This means he temporarily lost his allowance, travel expenses and he might have to change schools.   Unless of course he is 20-year old who is unlikely to ever be drafted.

If he is a teenager, once he finds another team willing to accept his scoring prowess and ignore his occasional exercising of his freedom of speech, he will be back on the path to becoming an overpaid professional albeit with a skeleton in his locker. 

 

[fbr2o75]

Does a Junior hockey player really get fired?  It is not a paying job as if he were an overpaid professional.  I think it should have read, he was let go or cut from the team.  This means he temporarily lost his allowance, travel expenses and he might have to change schools.   Unless of course he is 20-year old who is unlikely to ever be drafted.

If he is a teenager, once he finds another team willing to accept his scoring prowess and ignore his occasional exercising of his freedom of speech, he will be back on the path to becoming an overpaid professional albeit with a skeleton in his locker. 

20 year olds get paid anywheres from 450 - 650 per week, plus their housing, normally have their own apartment paid for by the team. I would say Bouchard would have been on the low scale probably 450 per week, but this is just speculation. Is it legal to pay 20 year olds,,,,,,,,,,,,,, No!! But it is common practise

 

[Gunner98]

Many older guys may have apartments but the younger ones are billetted with families (IIRC).  $450 per week is hardly enough to keep them in smokes, beer and a few loose groupies.

 

[Magravan]

Freedom of speech. If the guy was fired for 'a plethora of reasons', do it for them. Don't set a precedent where you strong arm people into supporting something that they don't.

No one is obligated to support the troops. We ask it, and we say "Just because you don't like Afghanistan doesn't mean you can't support us. We are just doing what the government that was elected tells us."  But I think that fails to consider the anti-war mentality in general. Someone who doesn't just not support Afghanistan, but doesn't support war in general.

The coach is using patriotism as a tool to get rid of someone that he didn't like for some other reason, and it is bollocks. Do you really want to wonder if the person signing did it because s/he was genuinely supportive, or because they feared losing their job / promotion / whatever for not being a 'team player'.

No one would have missed the guys signature had it not been on there (it's not like it is the Captain of an NHL team or something), and if they start forcing people to sign, it will render the whole thing meaningless. You'll receive a flag that has a bunch of signatures on it that may or may not represent people behind you... Give me 5 signatures of people who are truly supportive, rather than the thousands that were coerced somehow.

 

[AJFitzpatrick]

Well TSN had clips of  both of the principals on Sportscentre this AM and let me say it is still unclear what exactly is happening here.
1. The player keep citing other players as having said to have signed for him (and others). He should say who these players are. I would be curious to hear the RDS interview
2. The coach although still citing the flag signature business says the main reason was the -22.

I can only suggest that there is some sort of "moral turpitude" clause in a player contract that allows for cutting a player without compensation whereas a performance related issue may trigger compensation or perhaps there is a date beyond which roster changes cann't be made. Apparently the league commissioner is going to make some sort of ruling today.

 

[AJFitzpatrick]

New Story on TSN
Agent: Flag flap a misunderstanding

When he came in the dressing room, the guys were signing the flag and one of the guys said, 'Dave, you won't sign that flag because it's not a Quebec flag,' " Corbeil said. "It was a joke and Dave said nothing. Another guy signed Dave's name on the flag and he never said, 'I don't want to sign the flag.' When he saw his name on the flag, he said, 'I'm not going to put my name on the flag twice.

 

[Sig_Des]

Misunderstanding or not, firing a guy because he didn't sign a flag, well, it's just dumb. Congrats Coach, you're ignoring a freedom that is fought for.

If there's other reasons for dumping the guy, fine, but man up to it, and don't hide behind some quasi-political statement. Buddy playing for a team or not doesn't really give me a warm and fuzzy.

Seems to me it's like releasing a guy for not wanting his name on the back of a course t-shirt. You may not agree, but it's his choice.

 

[R933ex]

Update on this from the CBC

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2006/12/20/flag-player.html

This is one of the highlights:

Gilles Courteau, commissioner of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, also fined the Saint John Sea Dogs $1,000 for having asked the players to sign the flag.

Courteau said Wednesday the request to sign the flag and coach Jacques Beaulieu's comments about Dave Bouchard — the player who didn't sign it — violated the league's anti-discrimination policy.

 

[Sig_Des]

In his statement, the commissioner said that after discussions with Beaulieu, he was convinced that Bouchard had been released "only on the grounds of his performance on the ice."

See, if they'd only said that in the first place, no bloody problem.

People try to cloud things up, they'll get caught in a thunderstorm!

 

[Magravan]

That's some nice back pedalling...

 

[BernDawg]

Update on this from the CBC

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2006/12/20/flag-player.html

This is one of the highlights:

Gilles Courteau, commissioner of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, also fined the Saint John Sea Dogs $1,000 for having asked the players to sign the flag.

Courteau said Wednesday the request to sign the flag and coach Jacques Beaulieu's comments about Dave Bouchard — the player who didn't sign it — violated the league's anti-discrimination policy.

WTF!!!  So, then, are we to understand that the Quebec league doesn't support the troops?!?!?!

 

[Mr. Proulx]

yep along with alot of other people from Quebec.