Hockey analystPierre McGuire was criticized heavily Wednesday night for his behaivor towards five-time USA gold medalistKendall Coyne Schofield, but on Thursday she excused his actions.
CoyneSchofield participated inlast Fridays All-Star game skills competition, and was invited to be an analyst for NBCs broadcast of Lightning-Penguins on Wednesday night. She was paired withMcGuire throughout the broadcast and before the game started he treated her like a child.
Tampas gonna be on your left, Pittsburghs gonna be on your right, McGuiresaid to her. What are you expecting out of this game? Were paying you to be an analyst, not to be a fan tonight!
CJ Fogler (@cjzero)The moment Andrew Whitworth Jerseys resulted in a lot of social media reaction, including formerCanadian hockey player Ashley Johnston who tweeted, "Pierre McGuire, a great example of how far the NHL, broadcast, and sporting world has to go in respecting female athletes and reporters."
McGuire also had a second cringeworthy moment following a tense moment on Tutu Atwell Jerseys the ice. He compared it to last winter's gold medal game between USA and Canda to which Coyne Schofield responded, Yeah, except I had a cage on for that one." McGuire's response was,Ill be your cage tonight, hows that?
"I'll be your cage tonight, how's that?Pierre, please just stop.
Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_)The first exchange was viewed over 1 million times on Twitter alone, which led to lots of commentary about the incident. ButCoyneSchofield told her followers the day after that while she understands why people felt offended on her behalf, she knowsMcGuire meant nothing bad with his comments.
Her statement reads:
"My week started with competing in the NHL All-Star game and ended with calling an NHL game. To say it was one of the most incredible weeks of my life wouldn't come close to doing it service. But what made this week even more meaningful is knowing that it was much bigger than me. People joke about my size Torry Holt Jerseys but what I can tel you is I've learned these shoulders are strong enough to carry the weight and responsibility I feel, not just to myself, but to all of the young girls who have watched my week and now know what is po sible for them.
Eric Dickerson Jerseys I've known Pierre McGuire for years. I know he respects me as a hockey player, a woman, and a friend and that is why I didn't think twice about our on-air exchange when it happened. I didn't give it a second thought until after the game when I received countle s me sages. I went back and looked at the video. I understand why people would think it was inappropriate; if I were watching it at home and saw a man say this to a woman athlete, I would have been offended. But what I also know is how excited Pierre was for me and to be a part of this moment. hile I wish it came out differently, I know Pierre doesn't question my hockey knowledge. But, to be honest, that's not what's important.
What IS important is for every young girl reading this to know it doesn't matter what anyone thinks of my hockey Bobby Evans Jerseys knowledge because I do not doubt my hockey knowledge. I didn't need a gold medal to come to that conclusion. I needed belief in myself. That took time to build and I would never let someone else undo all of that work on the ice and especially off.
Last night was magical, nerve wracking and incredible. I learned two things: I loved being a part of it and I need to get better. All of THAT I control."
This past week. Matthew Stafford T Shirts ..
Kendall Coyne Schofield (@KendallCoyne)About an hour later, McGuire a statement on his own.
"I've known Kendall for years and have had the privilege of covering her as a member of Team USA at the past two Winter Olympics. We were all thrilled to have her join our coverage last night, but at times my excitement got the better of me and I should have chosen my words better. I have the utmost respect for Kendall as a world-cla s player, analyst of the game, and role model."
