After watching the tape the morning after Thursday’s game, I was disgusted. There is absolutely no place in hockey for what I did.
I want to apologize to Ryan Hollweg. I was grateful to learn that Ryan is okay and that he returned to the game. My hope is to reach out to him in the near future.
I want to apologize to my team and Islanders fans everywhere. My actions Thursday night played a major part in our team losing a crucial game. I also want to apologize to the National Hockey League for the damage I have caused this great game of ours.
What you saw Thursday is not the person, player and competitor that I am. I know my teammates and opponents over my 14 years in the NHL understand that.
I do not remember much about Thursday’s incident. When I saw the tape on Friday morning, it explained a lot to me when I saw the look on my face after being hit into the boards. I was completely out of it. When I met with the media about 30 minutes later, I still was not feeling well.
I met with our medical staff briefly Thursday night and underwent a series of tests on Friday afternoon. They have told me that I suffered a concussion when I hit the boards. Because I was not cleared by our doctors to travel, I would like to thank Colin Campbell for traveling to New York for today’s hearing.
I need to make clear that this is not justification for the danger I put Ryan Hollweg in and the damage I have caused the game. I understand disciplinary action will be taken.
Since Ryan is thankfully okay, what hurts the most is knowing my actions will result in me losing the privilege of being in the Islanders lineup.
Finally, I want to thank my Islanders teammates for their support throughout this process. It means everything to me.
Covering the Rangers, Devils, Islanders and Sabres five years running along with the rest of the puckers!
BONY
Battle Of New York
1 comment:
I thought this was not too bad, although I still don't appreciate the part about using the previous hit by Hollweg and the concussion as an excuse, even though he swears he's not...it still sounds like he is. Maybe he doesn't mean to.
In the universe of statements from athletes after incidents like this one, where Domi stood up there and basically cried because he was being suspended, and so did Bertuzzi, not because of what they did, Simon was much better.
I have seen some posts on other sites where Ranger fans have sneered at Simon's choice of words, "My hope is to reach out to him in the near future". Apparently they haven't spend lots of time in corporate settings, and whether you like it or not, the NHL and its teams are a corporate setting. That is corporate-speak for call him and he probably picked it up working with the NHLPA. Geez, people, I think it is silly, too, but wait until you sit in your first company meeting and someone asks you to 'reach out' to someone instead of just calling or emailing them. Then you won't sneer at Simon anymore.
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