Jerry York, the legendary Boston College coach, skipped the Hockey Hall of Fame ring ceremony in Toronto on Friday and did not attend the Hall of Fame game between the Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs.
As it turned out, York had a prior engagement coaching his Eagles to a 5-1 win at Vermont on Friday. The actual Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony isn’t until Monday.
Well, this shouldn’t have been controversial because the 74-year-old, in addition to his more than 1,000 wins, the four NCAA titles with the Eagles, and the legions of NHL players he’s tutored over the years, is a pillar of the hockey community that was a recipient of the Lester Patrick Trophy in honor of his contributions to hockey in the United States. He’s as devoted to coaching as anyone and expects his players to do the same, never putting self above team.
Well in Canada, where they should still be spending their weekend debating whether the guy who said the bigoted thing on TV last weekend is a bigot, York’s absence was too much for some in the holier-than-thou media to handle.
Leading the pack against York, of course, was Toronto Sun columnist Steve Simmons, who’s most famous for a story about Phil Kessel and hot dogs that has been debunked by several sources over the years with Simmons never having been accountable for spreading the myth.
Simmons deemed York’s decision “idiotic.”
What an idiotic decision by Jerry York to pass on the day’s festivities at the Hockey Hall of Fame so he could coach yet another US college game. That’s my view. You can disagree.
— steve simmons (@simmonssteve)
November 16, 2019 And just to prove that misery loves company, some of Simmons’ Canadian media colleagues took the writer’s side.
The people who nominated him must be thrilled at how little it evidently means to him. https://t.co/4gYd7LOcua
— Cam Cole (@rcamcole)
November 16, 2019 Having probably felt a social media backlash that hurt more than a Kessel wrist shot to the nuts, Simmons tried to change the wording from his initial tweet.
I would change the word idiotic for disrespectful. It is Hall of Fame weekend. If Jerry York didn’t want to take part in the numerous events prior to Monday night, he should have declined the honour. Would you have missed out on all that on Camni’s big weekend? https://t.co/sUb65ppK2e
— steve simmons (@simmonssteve)
November 16, 2019 But the sentiment of the second tweet was still the same, still ignorantly off base and still something York did not deserve to have distract from what should be a glorious weekend for the coach and the other inductees.
Thankfully for there were some better takes on this situation, like the above reply from Ray Ferraro, from others in the Canadian media.
I totally understand why Jerry York stayed with @BCHockey rather than attending Friday’s on ice ceremony for the @HockeyHallFame.He’s being inducted on Monday for the commitment he made to his players, their families and the game of hockey.He has always taught team first.
— John Shannon (@JShannonhl)
November 16, 2019 Or maybe the very reason he was nominated, his commitment to college hockey and his teams, is the same reason why he was coaching instead of at ceremony. Coach York would never intentionally disrespect the Hall or the honour he’s received.
— Mike Johnson (@mike_p_johnson)
November 16, 2019 Well if Steve Simmons accomplished something positive Friday, he was able to make even Boston University graduates, like this humble writer, defend a Boston College coach.
