[News] Brandon Univ. issues statement condemning honorary doctorate recipient Theo Fleury

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Matata

Theo's awesome. Theo will always be awesome. You sound like a bunch of butt hurt babies.

I think you're looking for the hot take thread

[Sofa GM]

Originally Posted by Captain Otto

I think you can be a victim AND be a complete ####### at the same time.

They are not mutually exclusive.

This...... there can be empathy for some of the hardship he has had in his life. But that does not justify or give him a pass for this type of ridiculous behavior.

[Locke]

Sometimes we have to learn to separate the 'Person' from the 'Player.'

Kind of like separating the art from the artist.

Not always, but sometimes.

I remember loving Theo on the ice but in the non-hockey world he has consistently come across as somewhat unhinged.

I thought that was a very eloquent and Diplomatic statement from Brandon University, and perhaps even a little respectful tap to Fleury to smarten up.

[cannon7]

Can we just cut to the chase and start erasing him from photos and record books? That's where were headed anyway, why wait?

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Matata

Theo's awesome. Theo will always be awesome. You sound like a bunch of butt hurt babies.

Well played Theo, well played.

[Sofa GM]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

I'm not going to go reading through Fleury's tweets, but from the OP I am gathering that his response to someone who called him out on him using honorary degrees as a credential was to say

"Same as real one".

LOL

I think it is very safe to say that we won't be seeing Theo on an episode of Jeopardy any time soon.....

[manwiches]

About time he got called out for being the meathead he is.

Yes, I understand he has his demons. But demons do not give one an excuse to act as he does.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by cannon7

Can we just cut to the chase and start erasing him from photos and record books? That's where were headed anyway, why wait?

This slippery-slope garbage is a tired over-reaction.

There is a world of difference between attempting to erase or rewrite one's history, and distancing oneself from an individual with a toxic media platform. How is it so difficult for some to grasp the utter canyon that separates these two actions?

[Goriders]

Why do you guys care so much about what Fleury says? If you don’t agree with it just ignore him.

End of the day he can still say whatever he wants. As long as it’s not against the law.

Not every person has to be burned at the stake. When did everyone turn to sugar?

[djsFlames]

The need to classify people as good or bad is an egoic approach and underneath it feels bad to do because we ourselves don't want to be judged in the same way because we know we aren't perfect in our own ways and are more complex than that.

Theo has done great things in the hockey community and as a voice for people who experience abuse in minor league sports.

He also has rather rough edges and uses social media and other platforms to promote misinformation.

He's a done good and bad and neither is negated by the other but the point is that people have many sides to their character and are complex beings. Many things make up a person.

It makes sense to stand against said misinformation and misuse of celebrity status to perpetuate ideas but we also don't have to write off people entirely in the process.

For a lot of people that just doesn't compute, because they're used to classifying people things and ideas in their mind. Labeling and dismissing is easier than not drawing a conclusion outright. But the healthy and more mature way to go about this i think is to acknowledge what about someones behaviors are right or wrong according to our values and drawing our own boundaries while acknowledging that even people we may strongly disagree with have redeeming qualities too.

Such is the case here.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by Goriders

Why do you guys care so much about what Fleury says? If you don’t agree with it just ignore him.

End of the day he can still say whatever he wants. As long as it’s not against the law.

Not every person has to be burned at the stake. When did everyone turn to sugar?

Fleury was an absolute hero to many of us.

You can't just "stop caring" about something you care about.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Goriders

Why do you guys care so much about what Fleury says? If you don’t agree with it just ignore him.

End of the day he can still say whatever he wants. As long as it’s not against the law.

Not every person has to be burned at the stake. When did everyone turn to sugar?

Once again, no one is "burning" anyone "at the stake."

What is happening here is that Fleury is being rightly criticised for his public speech, and people and institutions having fundamental disagreements with his rhetoric have decided to distance themselves from him.

As free as Fleury is to speak, we are all also just as free to complain about the content, and correct the ludicrous or dangerous things that he says from a highly visible public platform.

[PepsiFree]

“People can say whatever they want, ignore them if you don’t like it!” he said, responding to people saying things he didn’t like, instead of ignoring it.

[cam_wmh]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

“People can say whatever they want, ignore them if you don’t like it!” he said, responding to people saying things he didn’t like, instead of ignoring it.

I lol'd

[Goriders]

Well he obviously has some issues due to his past and he has a social media platform and little restraint.

Sounds like a recipe for disaster. It has happened before.

I get he university distancing themselves. But in general I’d take what he says with a grain of salt.

[browna]

He can say whatever he wants, and people can disagree, and, also finally realize that people like these should not be put on a moral or intellectual pedestal. And it’s just Theo being Theo as he has pretty much been since he escaped the Flames babysitters in 1999.

The idiotic part for this for me is him having the audacity and mental IQ to presume that trotting out some paper doctorate is a sign of his credibility.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by browna

He can say whatever he wants, and people can disagree, and, also finally realize that people like these should not be put on a moral or intellectual pedestal. And it’s just Theo being Theo as he has pretty much been since he escaped the Flames babysitters in 1999.

The idiotic part for this for me is him having the audacity and mental IQ to presume that trotting out some paper doctorate is a sign of his credibility.

A lot of opinionated athletes would be dumb enough to do the same thing in his place.

I doubt he was given the breakdown of what it meant in Theo terms when it was awarded.

In the end he was called out for it, pretty resoundingly. So I'd say the stupidity has been put in its place.

[Inferno]

Originally Posted by flylock shox

Never meet your heroes, kids. Better they live in your dreams and memories.


One of the best to ever wear the flaming C, but not a chap I'd be keen to sit next to on a flight to Australia.

I never got to meet him but my sister who took her grade 12 in Winnipeg got his autograph for me and she said he was a dick and was getting frustrated with kids.

I think that was a night where the Jets won in OT on a gloved puck so being frustrated with the game is understandable but when it comes to the fans and especially kids you put that aside and act like a professional.

[Mr.Coffee]

I’ve met Fleury before. He was okay. Kind of a chump when it came to money for the event we were at.

He will never get over himself, and people should just start ignoring him. That’s the best medicine he could get.

[Sandman]

Like I said on the first page, I met him at an autograph signing when I was a teenager. As stated above, never meet your heroes-he was an arrogant POS, and I never liked him as a player after that.