Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
Abuse is abuse. Granted, not all of it is physical, but all of it is absolutely wrong.
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Our ideas of what constitute abuse are changing. That doesn't mean those older norms are right. But few people question norms -
that's what makes them norms.
Those wondering why players didn't call out this stuff in the past don't seem to understand that. It would no more occur to a Lidstrom or Chelios to speak up or go the media about Babcock making a player cry than it would occur to them to speak up about a coach bag-skating players. Why would you speak up about something that wasn't unusual, and was accepted - even if it wasn't liked - by most people in the sport as part of the price of winning?
As SuperMatt pointed out, Shanahan played for Babcock. He knew exactly how he coached. And yet he threw so much money at the guy that he couldn't say no to coaching the Leafs. Why would Shanahan do that if he didn't think Babcock's approach led to winning?
I agree that younger players today don't respond as well to bullying, hard-ass coaches. I just think it will take a lot more than these recent incidents to make dozens of NHL GMs and coaches abandoned their life-long beliefs around how to get the most out of professional players.