Brad Marchand Defends Deleted Tweet To Bruins Reporter Regarding Tuukka Rask's Police Hat
BOSTON (CBS) -- Brad Marchand's Wednesday morning in Toronto began with a bang, as the Bruins' star winger fired off an emotional tweet directed at a Boston Globe reporter.
"Are you [expletive] serious Porter?" Marchand tweeted at Boston Globe reporter Matt Porter. "This here is why you are part of the problem."
The tweet came in response to Porter sharing a screen shot of Tuukka Rask being interviewed on NBC Sports while wearing a Boston Police hat. That tweet was attached to another tweet, which shared the statement from Bruins players expressing their plan to lock arms during the national anthem as a show of support for the Black community.
Considering the juxtaposition of Porter's two tweets about the Bruins' statement against racism and Rask's Boston Police hat, it was clear that Marchand felt Porter was indicating that the hat stood in opposition to the Bruins' statement against police brutality.
Marchand deleted his tweet, but later on Wednesday when speaking to the media on a video conference call, he was asked if he regretted sending that message.
"The reason I deleted my tweet was not because I regretted tweeting it. It was because i didn't want to bring any attention to [Porter]," Marchand said. "So I don't regret the way that I responded. I regret giving him attention for what he wanted. We stand with Tuukka, we stand as a group together, and that's that."
Marchand noted that Rask's interview was recorded before the players' statement was released.
"Tuuks was given a hat by a friend that he wore in an interview prior to the statement being released. That's OK for him to support a friend and wear a hat," Marchand said. "It doesn't change the fact that we all stand united against trying to end racism and being part of that solution. And Tuuks is part of that. He's on board, as are all of us."
Marchand went on to accuse the reporter of trying to generate attention, something that would work against the Bruins' goal of trying to speak out against some serious issues in America.
"I responded to that because I felt that we want to be part of the solution and in doing that with what Matt was trying to do was create a buzz," Marchand said. "We feel like Tuukka has a big platform, and for him to bring negative attention, that can deter Tuuks from wanting to be part of this. I'm not saying he does. But if it does, Tuuks has a big following. If you silence Tuuks and you silence his followers, that's part of the problem. We need people to be willing to speak up and want to be part of the solution and continue the conversation. The more people you silence and more negative attention you bring to what people are trying to create a positive solution, the more it's going to negatively impact ending racism."
Marchand added: "What Matt did was he tried to create a buzz that would effect himself positively, and get more followers, get more attention, get more likes, when it's hurting what we're trying to move forward with."
The Bruins get back to game action Thursday night, in an exhibition game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. That will be their lone tune-up before their round-robin play begins on Sunday afternoon against the Philadelphia Flyers.
UPDATE: Tuukka Rask spoke about the hat, saying he did not intend to make a statement by wearing it.
