Bernier Goes WAY TOO FAR

by

DEAR GOD!!

STOP THE PRESSES!!!

HE’S GONE TOO FAR!!!!

You would think that Bernier had been vaguely politically incorrect by the way the internet reacted to the Leafs’ latest “controversy.”   But yet, all he seemed to say was the truth: the team stinks and they usually always come out flat and get a kick in the pants when the goalie is pulled.

I get that the team is terrible and as such little things are magnified at this time, but this is getting ridiculous.  All Bernier did was answer a direct question. Honestly.

Would people prefer that everyone just give wishy-washy answers that are as meaningless as they are inoffensive? If what Bernier said today is controversial, I promise you that we aren’t far from the days when no one will risk saying anything even remotely interesting because it just won’t be worth it.

 

https://twitter.com/YakovMironov/status/582590383420366848

 

So, telling the truth makes him an A-hole? I don’t know man, I disagree.  I think he’s honest, friendly, and he has pretty good numbers on a brutal team. I mean, there are players on the Leafs who have very clearly quit on the team, the coach – perhaps a master of irony – refuses to break up the top-line which is not  just the worst top-line in hockey, but in the running for worst of all time, and no seems to care about price gouging at the arena.

But sure, let’s all use the internet to shame a kid who took the time to answer some questions – HONESTLY  I might add –  during what is obviously a difficult situation.

Oh, he didn’t say exactly what you wanted to hear? Better jump on your anonymous platform of choice and roast him like a turkey.

https://twitter.com/bobbycappucino/status/582572845521199104

Well, fans love Bernier because he is objectively a more talented goalie, but I digress.  In what way is he whiny or self-important? It’s not like he calls press-conferences to rip his teammates, he simply answers questions when people put microphones in front of him.

I commend him for being honest and for being a breath of fresh air during a time that seems hell-bent on becoming as repressed as the McCarthy-era 50’s.

Here Bernier is honestly assessing his own play. I guess it was too inconvenient for the “jerk” narrative to include this Tweet in your assessments?

All I am trying to say here is that we can’t have it both ways as fans.  Either we accept that athletes are human and that they will occasionally act that way in interviews and accept sports as the entertainment that it is, or we force a constraining standard of fence-sitting phonyism upon the whole enterprise and ruin everything that makes the non-game part of sports exciting.

If Bernier said “My team sucks, no wonder I get pulled all the time, Eric Brewer, Tim Erixon and Andrew MacWilliam make up half of my defense.”  Then I would get the point people were making, because even though that too would be an honest assessment, it would kind of a low-blow.

But Bernier didn’t even speak a harsh truth, he just kind of glossed over whatever everyone already knows: The Leafs suck and 1986 Patrick Roy couldn’t avoid being pulled while playing in front of this sub AHL hockey team.

Loosen up Leafs Nation,

Thanks for reading.