Damien Cox has infuriated the Big Ern

[FireGilbert]

Originally Posted by craigwd

As poorly phrased and hyperbolic it was, Cox made sense.
In this day and age of CTE, mental illness and death, how can McGrattan simply say "meh, that's what it is and I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing".

What if it happens again?

Thanks for going against the McGrattan Good/Cox Bad CP group think and having the guts to say this.

I just don't see what the fuss is all about. A reporter known for making over the top comments against fighting in hockey sends an over the top tweet against fighting in hockey. In other news water is wet and the sky is blue.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

This sentiment permeates every TV segment he is a part of, and all the columns he writes.

He is a blowhard and I sincerely hope he gets fired and we never have to listen or hear about/from him forever.

Hopes so. Hockey games are tough to get through. Who wants to spend hours with Healy Cox and Shannon?

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by FireGilbert

Thanks for going against the McGrattan Good/Cox Bad CP group think and having the guts to say this.

I just don't see what the fuss is all about. A reporter known for making over the top comments against fighting in hockey sends an over the top tweet against fighting in hockey. In other news water is wet and the sky is blue.

Making a stupid comment about a guy being suicidal isn't "against fighting in hockey". He could have made a point without saying that, but... water is wet, the sky is blue, and Cox is an idiot.

[FireGilbert]

Is "suicidal" now one of those words we can't use anymore because it is offensive to people who are actually depressed and suicidal?

One of the definitions of the word is "likely to have a disastrously damaging effect on oneself or one's interests". For example: "Accepting a job in Iraq is suicidal", "David Caruso leaving NYPD blue was career suicide" or "taking selfies on an unstable cliff edge is suicidal". It's not much of a stretch to go from there to a hockey fighter who was just knocked unconscious.

Yeah it was a stupid over the top comment that was a bad choice of words but wow what an over reaction.

[N-E-B]

Originally Posted by FireGilbert

Is "suicidal" now one of those words we can't use anymore because it is offensive to people who are actually depressed and suicidal?

One of the definitions of the word is "likely to have a disastrously damaging effect on oneself or one's interests". For example: "Accepting a job in Iraq is suicidal", "David Caruso leaving NYPD blue was career suicide" or "taking selfies on an unstable cliff edge is suicidal". It's not much of a stretch to go from there to a hockey fighter who was just knocked unconscious.

Yeah it was a stupid over the top comment that was a bad choice of words but wow what an over reaction.

It's not the word, it's how it was used and who it was said to. McGrattan had a lot of issues earlier in his life. He's battled through those issues but to bring them back up crosses the line. The word suicidal isn't offensive, but suggesting someone who had serious issues was suicidal is.

[Alberta_Beef]

Originally Posted by FireGilbert

Is "suicidal" now one of those words we can't use anymore because it is offensive to people who are actually depressed and suicidal?

Sure why not? I called my cousin ######ed and had people tell me who wrong it was. My cousin isn't disabled in any way and wasn't offended.

So if you cannot call anyone a ######, why can you call someone suicidal? They really aren't that different except one is still fighting for recognition as an illness.

[Stay Golden]

Cox just proves once again how much of an lowlife he is as a media personality.
Grats take the high road with this tool.

[Split98]

Well this thread just went full stupid.

[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by Alberta_Beef

Sure why not? I called my cousin ######ed and had people tell me who wrong it was. My cousin isn't disabled in any way and wasn't offended.

So if you cannot call anyone a ######, why can you call someone suicidal? They really aren't that different except one is still fighting for recognition as an illness.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by FireGilbert

Is "suicidal" now one of those words we can't use anymore because it is offensive to people who are actually depressed and suicidal?

You can use it, of course. But you are not immune from criticism when you use it in a crass and demeaning fashion like Cox did. People who make light of mental issues to prove their self-aggrandizing points deserve every bit of criticism they get. Cox, via his entire body of work, deserves to be unemployed. Sadly, we've learned the last week or so that competence is not a trait mass media places a priority on.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Alberta_Beef

Sure why not? I called my cousin ######ed and had people tell me who wrong it was. My cousin isn't disabled in any way and wasn't offended.

So if you cannot call anyone a ######, why can you call someone suicidal? They really aren't that different except one is still fighting for recognition as an illness.

You are completely missing the point. It's not the person your insulting whose offense you should be worried about. It's actual mentally challenged people

[manwiches]

McGratten just came on FAN 960 and did a little interview.

Chatted about fighting, his health, his family. Is doing great, it was worse than it looked, looking forward to playing for another couple years and then moving on with his family.

Rob Kerr asked a question alluding to 'critics' and pot shots at him. Big Ern took the high road and didn't disparage Cox or any critics. Was a true class act in his response.

Sorry, there was much more, but that was what I took from it.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by manwiches

McGratten just came on FAN 960 and did a little interview.

Chatted about fighting, his health, his family. Is doing great, was worse than looked, looking forward to playing for another couple years and then moving on with his family...

What was actually said was that it looked worse than it was, but I am inclined to think that your mis-type is actually much closer to the truth here, and THAT is a big part of the problem.

[manwiches]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

What was actually said was that it looked worse than it was, but I am inclined to think that your mis-type is actually much closer to the truth here, and THAT is a big part of the problem.

Oh nards. lol. I meant that. Editted!

[Jacks]

Originally Posted by manwiches

it looked worse than it looked

Might want to edit again

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by manwiches

Oh nards. lol. I meant that. Editted!

Hahahahaha..."Nards". I'd like to officially welcome this word to my vocabulary.

[taco.vidal]

How did it look worse than it actually was? He was knocked out cold. Is he saying he didnt lose conciousness?

I dont understand the outrage at Cox's comment. Im not Cox fan and dont like his work in general. However, I think he was bang on with the comment.

[Derek Sutton]

Originally Posted by taco.vidal

How did it look worse than it actually was? He was knocked out cold. Is he saying he didnt lose conciousness?

I dont understand the outrage at Cox's comment. Im not Cox fan and dont like his work in general. However, I think he was bang on with the comment.

So you would classify MMA fighters, Boxers, Hockey players, football players etc... as suicidal? Not a "bang on" comment.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by taco.vidal

How did it look worse than it actually was? He was knocked out cold. Is he saying he didnt lose conciousness?...

No!

This was a transcription error on the part of the poster. McGrattan asserted that it looked worse than it was.

Having said that, I am of the opinion that manwitch's error is actually a fairly brilliant piece of unwitting accuracy: As with these sorts of incidents, it IS often the case that things ARE much worse than they appear. After fights, Derek Boogaard, Bob Probert, Rick Rypien, Steve Montador, and Wade Belak all usually appeared to be fine—not much worse for wear. But it is now reasonable to suspect that this activity was slowly and invisibly killing them. Is his frequent fighting in hockey slowly and invisibly killing McGrattan?

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Derek Sutton

So you would classify MMA fighters, Boxers, Hockey players, football players etc... as suicidal? Not a "bang on" comment.

Let's break this down a bit.

First of all, there is a difference between identifying a person as suicidal, and judging his actions as suicidal. The first meaning is plain, while the second is metaphoric. I maintain that while no MMA fighters, boxers, hockey or football players have a death wish, their participation in activities that appear more and more to be detrimental to their long-term well being and mortality is suicidal. In other words: it is [metaphorically] suicidal to subject oneself to the vulnerability of devastating head trauma by his participation in professional fighting. That does not mean that these people are literally suicidal.

Second, let's look at what Cox in fact tweeted:

Originally Posted by Damien Cox

"Brian McGrattan wants to seem brave, accepting the consequences of his 'craft.' Unfortunately, he mostly seems oblivious. Or suicidal."

Poorly worded? Yes. Inflammatory? Yes. Responsible? No.

But, did Cox actually accuse McGrattan of being suicidal? No. The meaning of his tweet was that McGrattan's willingness to subject himself to a potentially mortally dangerous activity is so outrageous that it looks suicidal. Cox does not actually believe that McGrattan is suicidal. It's hyperbole. The problem with what he said has a lot to do with the character limit of twitter, combined with Cox's inability to exercise tact, but at no point is he purporting that McGrattan has an actual wish to die.

Furthermore, the point of the tweet is perfectly obvious from the first two sentences, which have been virtually ignored to this point: Cox insinuates pretty clearly that McGrattan's nonchalant dismissal of the incident is incredibly foolhardy and shortsighted. His cavalier disregard for the danger, and his insistence that the fight and the result were "no big deal" is—to be blunt—somewhat ignorant, given the current levels of alarm about professional fighting. The point is not that McGrattan is suicidal, rather that he is oblivious about the danger, because the only alternative is that he would have an actual death wish, and there is no good reason to think that he does.

This is not an apology for Cox. I think the tweet was stupid, and he deserves criticism for making it. This is an attempt to show that while it was ill advised and inappropriate, there is a real kernel of truth behind what he has attempted to say.