Mike Babcock Resigns as Blue Jackets Coach Amid Investigation Involving Players’ Photos

[siddious]

I mean I’ll wait for details to come out before I say anything else. But yea…

[Scott]

The definition of Jackhole when you look it up in the dictionary. This guy has learned absolutely nothing over the years and even when gifted with yet another opportunity he pissed it away in record time not even making it to the puck drop of a single regular season game.  

 

Do the game a favor please please go away never to be heard from or about ever again. 

[phillyb]

Awwww, those damn soft kids meddling in the good ol' boys club again. 

 

Eat shit, Dinosaur. Move over for the next generation and take the archaic bullshit with you. 

[phillyb]

Quote

According to multiple sources, one of the most serious concerns was a meeting that occurred away from team facilities that included “several minutes” of looking through a phone. That was beyond the scope of what was initially understood to have occurred.

 

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/mike-babcock-to-resign-as-blue-jackets-head-coach-following-photo-controversy/

 

[The Dude]

[Valriera]

While probably completely harmless and blown out of the water, if you just got outta jail and are on probation, and if your first thought is ima just take 5$ from the register here, then you probably deserve to go back 

[phillyb]

[phillyb]

 

[BrooksBurner]

Gen Z is soft as fuck lmao

[Scott]

The old man was just looking for some random nudes to go home and beat off to, nothing to see here.

 

Sorry, I mean just looking to get familiar with their families, my apologies.

 

Looking forward to the long list of players and coaches who come forward and say sure, hell it's completely normal and been a part of the process since the invention of the cell phone. 

 

The guy has a long history of being toxic and was a terrible choice from the beginning. He failed once again this time before even leaving the starting blocks.  But sure blame the NHLPA.

 

I bet the line would be pretty f'ing short if everybody's new boss here were to call them in and say hey let's go through your phone pics. Come on man.... snowflakes lmao.

Edited September 18, 2023 by jsrangers

[phillyb]

 

Johan Franzen (age, 43) was verbally abused on the bench, corroborated by Chris Chelios (age, 61).

 

Quote

"Some of the things [Babcock said to Franzen] on the bench, I don't know what he said to him behind closed doors one-on-one, but he blatantly verbally assaulted him during the game on the bench," Chelios told the Spittin' Chiclets Podcast in an episode released Monday.

 

Quote

"He's a terrible person, the worst I have ever met. He's a bully who was attacking people. It could be a cleaner at the arena in Detroit or anybody. He would lay into people without any reason," Franzen said.

 

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/mike-babcock-coaching-franzen-chelios-1.5381813

 

---------------------

 

Pretty similar story here from another Swedish dude - https://www.hockeyfeed.com/nhl-news/another-former-player-describes-abuse-at-the-hands-of-mike-babcock

 

Scratches Modano (age, 53) to end the season so he doesn't reach 1500 game milestone

 

Quote

“Yeah, Drapes (Kris Draper) was (upset) ... you know, it was really kind of last second. No one really knew until they got to the game and saw what was happening. And then word spread through the locker room, you know, ‘He would have got 1,500 the next game,’ so Nick (Lidstrom) was a little upset. Kenny Holland didn’t know about it actually until he got to the game. He says to this day he probably would have stepped in and told Mike, ‘We need to have him get to this milestone.’ So yeah, the older guys were frustrated, and I think some of them were already frustrated with Mike at the time way before that. They were all feeling for me at the time.”

 

Kris Draper - 52 years old

Lidstrom - 53 years old

 

https://www.clickondetroit.com/sports/local/2021/03/12/mike-modano-talks-about-babcock-benching-him-it-was-a-bitter-pill/#//

 

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Colaiacovo (age, 40) on the 2012-2013 Red Wings - https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/2019/11/26/ex-red-wings-d-colaiacovo-on-babcock-guys-hated-him-in-detroit-tried-to-get-him-fired-every-year/

Quote

“I’m not going to go out on a limb and say he’s a bad guy, because that’s not my place. I only played for him for less than half a season, but I can understand why people say he’s a bad guy. I played with guys in Detroit that hated him. I told you that every year in Detroit the leaders would go in and try to get him fired, but Kenny Holland wouldn’t even entertain that conversation because he knew what he was getting as a coach,” Colaiacovo told TSN.

 

Mike Commodore (age, 43) hates this guy for being "buried" in Anaheim and Detroit. 

Babcock scratches Jason Spezza on his last home opener against his old team. 

 

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What generation do these guys belong to?

 

Edited September 18, 2023 by phillyb

[phillyb]

[Pete]

9 hours ago, phillyb said:

 

Johan Franzen (age, 43) was verbally abused on the bench, corroborated by Chris Chelios (age, 61).

 

 

 

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/mike-babcock-coaching-franzen-chelios-1.5381813

 

---------------------

 

Pretty similar story here from another Swedish dude - https://www.hockeyfeed.com/nhl-news/another-former-player-describes-abuse-at-the-hands-of-mike-babcock

 

Scratches Modano (age, 53) to end the season so he doesn't reach 1500 game milestone

 

 

Kris Draper - 52 years old

Lidstrom - 53 years old

 

https://www.clickondetroit.com/sports/local/2021/03/12/mike-modano-talks-about-babcock-benching-him-it-was-a-bitter-pill/#//

 

---------------------

 

Colaiacovo (age, 40) on the 2012-2013 Red Wings - https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/2019/11/26/ex-red-wings-d-colaiacovo-on-babcock-guys-hated-him-in-detroit-tried-to-get-him-fired-every-year/

 

Mike Commodore (age, 43) hates this guy for being "buried" in Anaheim and Detroit. 

Babcock scratches Jason Spezza on his last home opener against his old team. 

 

---------------------

 

What generation do these guys belong to?

 

And yet some of the veteran players on the team had no problem with what went on... Just because 20-year-old say something doesn't make it true. 

[Morphinity 2.0]

I don't see why it's hard to understand people at different stages at their lives/careers might react to this sort of thing differently - and it might not have anything to do with what generation they're born in. 

[Keirik]

That same group of players had 25 wins and a .299 winning % last year. I guess that’s more acceptable than sharing selfies. Oh the horror. 

[Phil]

12 hours ago, BrooksBurner said:

Gen Z is soft as fuck lmao

 

It's easy to say this. I cannot imagine the dread of being asked to hand my fucking phone to my boss for "several minutes." I'd sooner quit than do so.

 

Maybe the new generation is soft, but Babcock has learned nothing about what is and what isn't acceptable in the game, and by numerous reports, appears to be an absolute control freak who bullies his own players. If they're soft, he's a fucking dinosaur and ought to reside there with the rest of the boomers just like him who also can't find work for some strange reason.

[phillyb]

3 minutes ago, Keirik said:

That same group of players had 25 wins and a .299 winning % last year. I guess that’s more acceptable than sharing selfies. Oh the horror. 

 

It's really dishonest to read what's come out of this story and think it was just selfies. There's one report that's been quoted by Friedman, Strang, and the like where someone was asked to hand over their phone and Babcock went through it for several minutes. 

That is NOT the same as, "show me a selfie" or "let me see your family photos."

[Phil]

1 minute ago, Keirik said:

That same group of players had 25 wins and a .299 winning % last year. I guess that’s more acceptable than sharing selfies. Oh the horror. 

 

Keith... how many 22-year olds (let alone pro athletes) do you think have nothing but "selfies" and "family pictures" on their phones? There's a reason they're uncomfortable. It's the same reason any young person wouldn't want anyone going through their phone for "several minutes." You want to know why Boone Jenner is probably OK with this and the young guys aren't? Jenner's 30, married, with kids. He's not going to have pics of him snorting molly off a stripper on his phone.

 

Fact is, most people fully recognize that an individuals cell phone is highly likely to be incredibly sensitive — everything from photos they don't want others seeing to searches, etc.

[Phil]

1 minute ago, phillyb said:

 

It's really dishonest to read what's come out of this story and think it was just selfies. There's one report that's been quoted by Friedman, Strang, and the like where someone was asked to hand over their phone and Babcock went through it for several minutes. 

That is NOT the same as, "show me a selfie" or "let me see your family photos."

 

This. Several minutes of your overbearing boss going through your personal cell phone is about the most agonizing thing I can imagine. Those players probably felt paralyzed.

[Keirik]

1 minute ago, Phil said:

 

Keith... how many 22-year olds (let alone pro athletes) do you think have nothing but "selfies" and "family pictures" on their phones? There's a reason they're uncomfortable. It's the same reason any young person wouldn't want anyone going through their phone for "several minutes." You want to know why Boone Jenner is probably OK with this and the young guys aren't? Jenner's 30, married, with kids. He's not going to have pics of him snorting molly off a stripper on his phone.

 

Fact is, most people fully recognize that an individuals cell phone is highly likely to be incredibly sensitive — everything from photos they don't want others seeing to searches, etc.

How many 22 year olds get paid a minimum of 800k to play a kids game? It’s regular practice in Law Enforcement backgrounds to have to show all your special media, pics, and even sometimes phones when being investigated to be hired. I’m sorry, but I don’t have too much sympathy if a 22 year old  pro athlete has highly inappropriate images. It’s 2023 now.  I think we are at a point where we are better than that and most people have to go around in a world watching everything they say, record, photograph, or do on a daily basis in fear of one day 10 years later that resurfaces and they are cancelled.  I’m not saying I would personally do this but it’s getting made out to be a whole lot more than it is based on reputation in my opinion. 

[Keirik]

9 minutes ago, phillyb said:

 

It's really dishonest to read what's come out of this story and think it was just selfies. There's one report that's been quoted by Friedman, Strang, and the like where someone was asked to hand over their phone and Babcock went through it for several minutes. 

That is NOT the same as, "show me a selfie" or "let me see your family photos."

It’s not bro g dishonest. A selfie just means a pic you take of yourself. Whether it be a dick selfie, snorting blow selfie, or a pic with your dog. Only one of the three is acceptable btw as a professional athlete. 

[Valriera]

4 minutes ago, Phil said:

 

It's easy to say this. I cannot imagine the dread of being asked to hand my fucking phone to my boss for "several minutes." I'd sooner quit than do so.

 

Maybe the new generation is soft, but Babcock has learned nothing about what is and what isn't acceptable in the game, and by numerous reports, appears to be an absolute control freak who bullies his own players. If they're soft, he's a fucking dinosaur and ought to reside there with the rest of the boomers just like him who also can't find work for some strange reason.

 

I appreciate this comment so much. A story.

 

My dad who I regularly play hockey with recently came out of retirement due to divorce. He ran his own business for around ten years while we were young, retired for 15 years, and when the divorce happened, he realized he needed to be working again to make ends meet for a few years. He's an tech infrastructure project manager. Think network switches, etc. My dad is 72.

 

As you can imagine, like most boomers, he has some pointed thoughts on the generation of younger people he works with and has to deal with. It's hard to hear a lot of these, but a lot of them are pretty much correct. One of my favorites are the bathroom comments. He's like "I can't figure out where to take a piss anymore so I just pee myself and people think it's because I'm old, not because I'm confused as to which bathroom I'm allowed in." Like, I get it, it's not that complicated, but also his generation was not the one that created this nonsense. 

 

He talks a lot about this but always qualifies it with something along the lines of "You didn't need to wear a hard hat on a construction site 50 years ago either, you didn't need to wear a helmet to play hockey 20 years ago, and you ________ now." 

 

Is Gen Z soft as shit? Yeah you're fucking right they are. Go ahead, let the guy take your phone and see what he has to say about it. Who the fuck cares what Mike Babcock has to say about your shit. 

 

But also, the world has changed, the sports world has changed, and the hockey world has changed. If you want to work in that world and it takes a muzzle to make you a remotely tolerable individual, then wear a muzzle. Or, you know, don't be a coach. 

 

 

[Phil]

23 minutes ago, Keirik said:

How many 22 year olds get paid a minimum of 800k to play a kids game? It’s regular practice in Law Enforcement backgrounds to have to show all your special media, pics, and even sometimes phones when being investigated to be hired. I’m sorry, but I don’t have too much sympathy if a 22 year old  pro athlete has highly inappropriate images. It’s 2023 now.  I think we are at a point where we are better than that and most people have to go around in a world watching everything they say, record, photograph, or do on a daily basis in fear of one day 10 years later that resurfaces and they are cancelled.  I’m not saying I would personally do this but it’s getting made out to be a whole lot more than it is based on reputation in my opinion. 

 

So the amount of money you make correlates with how much dignity you can expect to be treated with? Calling it a "kids game" is a euphemism, too. You know many kids suffering ACL tears and repeated concussions? Joonas Donskoi just had to retire after playing just seven years at this "kids game."

You're trivializing the non-trivial IMO. Both with your description of their job and the conduct they're being subjected to within it.

 

That said, I don't entirely disagree with your larger assessment. I've hinted at/spoken to this a few times now and share a similar read on it. If this was Head Coach Pascal Vincent, this is a slap on the wrist moment and we all move on. But it wasn't. It was Mike Babcock — a notorious figure with a checkered history. He doesn't get the benefit of the doubt anymore. So while yes, this is a mountain being made of a mole hill, it also isn't, because the fact is he probably never should have been brought back in the first place.

 

I'm reminded of that line from Fight Club: "You're running around in ski masks trying to blow things up. What did you think was gonna happen?!"

[Phil]

29 minutes ago, Valriera said:

 

I appreciate this comment so much. A story.

 

My dad who I regularly play hockey with recently came out of retirement due to divorce. He ran his own business for around ten years while we were young, retired for 15 years, and when the divorce happened, he realized he needed to be working again to make ends meet for a few years. He's an tech infrastructure project manager. Think network switches, etc. My dad is 72.

 

As you can imagine, like most boomers, he has some pointed thoughts on the generation of younger people he works with and has to deal with. It's hard to hear a lot of these, but a lot of them are pretty much correct. One of my favorites are the bathroom comments. He's like "I can't figure out where to take a piss anymore so I just pee myself and people think it's because I'm old, not because I'm confused as to which bathroom I'm allowed in." Like, I get it, it's not that complicated, but also his generation was not the one that created this nonsense. 

 

He talks a lot about this but always qualifies it with something along the lines of "You didn't need to wear a hard hat on a construction site 50 years ago either, you didn't need to wear a helmet to play hockey 20 years ago, and you ________ now." 

 

Is Gen Z soft as shit? Yeah you're fucking right they are. Go ahead, let the guy take your phone and see what he has to say about it. Who the fuck cares what Mike Babcock has to say about your shit. 

 

But also, the world has changed, the sports world has changed, and the hockey world has changed. If you want to work in that world and it takes a muzzle to make you a remotely tolerable individual, then wear a muzzle. Or, you know, don't be a coach. 

 

 

 

Every generation says the same shit about the generation that follows them. Ask the Silent Generation (if you can find one) what they thought about the culture the Baby Boomers grew up in. They said the same shit you're saying about Millenials or Gen Z. News flash: This is how progress works. It's a ladder. Not a destination. For the life of me, I cannot understand why people want shit to be just as bad for their kids and others' as it was for them growing up. Isn't the point to make their lives easier, not harder?

 

"I had to walk six miles to school in the snow!" That sucks. It's awful, and you never should have. School buses should have existed and been made available to you so that that wasn't required for you to get an education.

 

"Back in my day you could tell a kid to sit down and shut up when he asked to use the bathroom during a lesson!" Great — that' s terrible. So more kids should have to suffer the humiliation of pissing themselves because you want to control things you can't actually control?

 

I grew up in an era before the internet even existed, and when we finally got it, it was on a 28.8 bps modem. I had to DIAL into the internet. My son will never have to know this misery. I should shame him for it? What fucking sense does this make? It's a good thing he'll never have to worry about my wife picking up the phone and destroying his connection while he works on a book report.

 

This is the shit I just can't understand with the Babcocks of the world. You don't have to like that things are different, but you have to accept it, and you need to work with these players, not against them. The more you fight basic progress like the dignity of privacy, the only thing you'll accomplish is ostracizing your own career. You think anyone will ever hire Mike Babcock in the NHL again?

[Keirik]

Just now, Phil said:

 

So the amount of money you make correlates with how much dignity you can expect to be treated with? Calling it a "kids game" is a euphemism, too. You know many kids suffering ACL tears and repeated concussions? Joonas Donskoi just had to retire after playing just seven years at this "kids game."

You're trivializing the non-trivial IMO. Both with your description of their job and the conduct they're being subjected to within it.

 

That said, I don't entirely disagree with your larger assessment. I've hinted at/spoken to this a few times now and share a similar read on it. If this was Head Coach Pascal Vincent, this is a slap on the wrist moment and we all move on. But it wasn't. It was Mike Babcock — a notorious figure with a checkered history. He doesn't get the benefit of the doubt anymore. So while yes, this is a mountain being made of a mole hill, it also isn't, because the fact is he probably never should have been brought back in the first place.

 

I'm reminded of that line from Fight Club: "You're running around in ski masks trying to blow things up. What did you think was gonna happen?!"

Well, it’s not JUST the money, but it’s part of it. These are the top of the top level of athletes in their trade. There is a level of professionalism that I expect to see maintained at all times if they want to stay at this level. It is a kids game. That’s how every person started playing it. As a kid, for the love of it. The select few get to have every kids dream come true and make it at the top level to be a career out of it.  
 

  I think we are just seeing things from opposite ends on this one. As for the ACL tears and concussions. We both know plenty of athletes blow their ACL in high school,  college, pickup games, wherever. It’s not only at the pro level. Concussions is a whole other topic but there is a reason they want to ban fighting at lower levels, they are starting to ban heading the ball in youth soccer, et al. 
 

   I still think this is mostly because of who with a lesser extend of what. I’d wager to guess that most players in that locker room were saying “oh shit” when Babcock was hired in the first place so they were just waiting and looking for an out. He was dumb enough to give them one for sure, so there is that. I just don’t agree with this at all however. This, to me, smacks more of entitled players that were looking to be offended just to get out of a situation where they would have to have accountability for not being good enough. We’re talking about a roster that couldn’t even win more than 30% of their games, has more holes than a block of Swiss, has their best “superstar” routinely dog it in years past in Laine, and doesn’t come from some history of winning culture.
 

   If the players are worried some coach might find dick pics in their offseason routine, then Babcock might be lucky to resign.