Wednesday, February 20, 2002
Fired-up boss has absolutely no re-Gretz
By AL STRACHAN -- Toronto Sun
SALT LAKE CITY -- Regrets? Frank Sinatra may have had a few when he did things his way.
But Wayne Gretzky did it his way on Monday, and he has no regrets whatsoever.
In an uncharacteristic tirade, Gretzky blasted, among other things, stick use by the Czechs, inconsistent officials, and American rumour mongers, an outburst that received worldwide attention.
"I have no regrets," he said yesterday. "I was trying to protect our hockey team. I said it with a great deal of passion for our game in Canada. I was upset at the cross-check (by Roman Hamrlik on Theoren Fleury)
"Had this been an American or Canadian player, a lot would have been made of it. I sat here for 20 minutes and not one person asked me about that cross-check.
"If that had been a Canadian or American player, it would have been the first question asked."
Although there had been some speculation that NBC announcer Jim Lampley was the primary offender among the American media, Gretzky said that was not the case and pointed out that Lampley is a friend of his. It was a cumulative effect, he said.
"Every time I walked in, something new was thrown at me. There were all these stories from coaches not talking to each other, to Mario Lemieux having gone home. I just had no idea where all this was coming from. I just had enough of it.
"For some reason, there were all these silly rumours flying around about our hockey team. It really started to wear on me and it really bothered me, especially when our hockey team is here representing our country and doing what they can to win a gold medal and carrying themselves with a great deal of class."
This is an unusual stage for Gretzky. He's no stranger to the limelight, but as a player, his remarks always were more measured and his approach always was more diplomatic.
Now, however, he's in a new role and he intends to act accordingly.
"When I was a player, I was a player," he said. "Now I'm in a situation where I can defend our hockey team and I feel obliged to do that.
"I'm no different than anyone else who has ever been involved here, whether it's Bobby Clarke or Glen Sather. That's what you do. You protect your team. That's what I was trying to do."
And that's what he did.
2002 Games Men's Hockey Coverage
