Posted on 12/19/2006 6:24:55 PM PST by buccaneer81
Backlash over flag flap has team on defensive
Joshua Errett and Scott Briggs Telegraph-Journal Published 2006-12-19 | Page A1
The Saint John Sea Dogs' decision to cut a high-scoring player after he did not sign a flag intended for troops in Afghanistan has scored the team a public relations disaster.
Left wing Dave Bouchard will either be released or traded, but the reason for his split with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team is still under review: Was it play or politics that caused his ouster?
During interviews on Monday, coach and general manager Jacques Beaulieu reiterated his outrage over the missing signature, citing it as a major factor in the player's dismissal. But, later in the day, team management said the decision was based on Bouchard's lack of leadership and defensive ability.
"We've gotten some negative reaction, but we've also got a lot of support," said Sea Dogs executive director David Turk.
"But we're not trying to make a statement on Afghanistan. And (Bouchard's) release from the club had nothing to do with the flag issue."
While Turk admitted not signing the flag may have been "a last straw," he said other issues were paramount in the decision.
"There are two aspects to every story," he said of the focus on the flag incident. "I'm sure part of the discussion (with Bouchard) was a lack of leadership and lack of on-ice performance."
Turk also made it clear that the Sea Dogs do not wish to impose politics on players.
"As an organization, we want to support the troops. A lot of them are part of our fan base," said Turk. "But we're not trying to censor a player."
However, Bouchard said not signing the flag was, in fact, the main reason for his release.
"The biggest thing was the flag, and the other thing was my work ethic and things like that," Bouchard said Tuesday. "It's not just one thing."
Bouchard also said he doesn't oppose Canada's military presence in Afghanistan.
"I support the troops, for sure," the Jonquiere, Que., native said. "I don't know anything about politics, but I think those guys and girls have a lot of heart. I didn't want to disrespect those people and (other) people of Canada."
Bouchard played 34 of Saint John's 35 games in the season's first half. He scored 15 goals, second best on the Sea Dogs, and 23 points overall, fourth-best on the club. Beaulieu said Sunday that Bouchard's defensive efforts weren't acceptable, noting the forward was a minus-22.
In a story by Ken Campbell of The Hockey News, QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau said he is satisfied that the player wasn't released because of the flag situation, but is still concerned that Beaulieu told the media that was part of the reason. Courteau said he intends to speak with Beaulieu, team president and majority owner Scott McCain and others in the Sea Dogs' front office before deciding on a course of action.
"I don't approve of what was said publicly by Saint John Sea Dogs coach-GM Jacques Beaulieu," Courteau said. "If that was the case and he was sent home for refusing to sign a flag, I would have made sure the player would have been reinstated by the team because you can't release a player for doing that.
"There are three things you have to respect: politics, religion and sexual orientation," Courteau continued. "I would never accept or agree with someone who would do something like that with a player or a member of team management because of his political orientation, his religious orientation or sexual orientation. I would not put up with that."
There are no plans to discipline Beaulieu, according to the team.
Ultimately, owner McCain trusts his coach and general manager.
"Jacques Beaulieu is making decisions to try to improve the hockey team and the quality of players in the dressing room. I don't tell him who to (trade or release) and who not to."
McCain was in Saint John recently to address the status of the Sea Dogs. He said Bouchard's overall behaviour was a concern to the coaching staff long before the flag incident.
"I'm not sure he had been a positive influence in the dressing room for quite some time," said McCain, the president and chief operating officer of Maple Foods Inc.'s agribusiness group in Toronto.
"The real message is we're trying to change the look of the team"‰"..."‰We want to move on and focus on the second half."
But regardless of whether Bouchard's gesture was a political one, the team's reaction is seen as alarming by some.
Scott Taylor, editor-in-chief of Esprit de Corps Military Magazine, said that the Sea Dogs bringing patriotism into their locker room essentially "blurs the line between the troops and the war."
"I don't understand the connection to hockey," he added. "We get that with characters like Don Cherry. The troops love him for that, but it spreads to a dangerous situation where it's un-Canadian not to support the Afghanistan mission. That's a mistake."
He added: "We're allowed to have free-thinking on these issues - that's ideally what the soldiers are off defending."
Elsewhere, fans of the Quebec Major Juniors were debating the issue on message boards associated with the league. The overwhelming sentiment was that the team overstepped its bounds.
"Is it worse to not sign a flag, or trash a 20-year-old kid publicly?" asked one commenter.
"Beaulieu has no right to impose his convictions on young men that are there to play hockey for him," wrote another.
Ping!!
Please send me a FReepmail to get on or off this Canada ping list.
They canned the smarmy ingrate. Good for them.
As for Mr. Cocteau, you sir are clueless about "respect".
Just my opinion of course.
I would have let his teammates take care of it. Maybe a little Mark Messier type chat after practice. Most dressing-rooms have a resident judge, jury and executioner to quell disruptions in team unity. A little chat by the stick rack might be all it takes.
Well, he sure plays the perfect position for his apparent views.
Here on the East Coast, I saw a story which reported that he was overheard saying that he wouldn't sign the Canadian flag, only the Quebec flag. He recognizes the Quebec flag as the national flag over the maple leaf. That was what I read ... not sure how accurate it is. That being said, it wouldn't surprise me. I wouldn't put anyhting past a Francophone from Quebec.
Hockey ping!
I hadn't heard about this, thanks for the ping.
You are exactly right. That little chat by the stick rack should have taken place the night Bouchard stepped off the ice a -15 +/-. 2nd on the team in scoring and a -22 half way through the season?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.