Duncan Keith says there was no sexist intent with female reporter
BY MARK LAZERUS mlazerus@suntimes.com April 24, 2013 11:20PM
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Updated: April 25, 2013 12:20AM
EDMONTON, Alberta — Duncan Keith said he had no intent on Monday night during a testy exchange with a female reporter in Vancouver. He didn’t offer a direct apology, instead saying that he respects all reporters, regardless of gender.
“Over the years, people that have dealt with me know I respect the reporters, and I respect everybody’s jobs and what they do,” Keith said Wednesday morning in Edmonton. “Sometimes, especially after a loss, I can be fired up. I don’t like to lose. I get frustrated when I lose. Call me a sore loser, maybe. I think that’s part of it, that after a tough loss, I was frustrated from losing, and, to me, that’s all it was.”
During the exchange, Karen Thomson of TEAM-1040 in Vancouver asked Keith a few times whether he thought he deserved a penalty for his two-handed stick swing as Daniel Sedin broke in on Corey Crawford for a breakaway (the referee actually had his hand raised, but the delayed call was wiped out by Sedin’s goal).
“Well, it looked like maybe there was a penalty that went undetected; you seemed a bit frustrated,” Thomson said.
“Oh, no, I don’t think there was anything,” Keith responded. “I think he scored a nice goal, and the ref was right there. That’s what the ref saw. We should get you as a ref maybe, eh?”
“Yeah, maybe,” Thomson said.
“First female referee?” Keith replied.
“I can’t skate, though,” Thomson answered.
“Can’t play probably either, right?” Keith said. Thomson said no and laughed.
“But you’re thinking the game like you know it?” Keith said. “Yeah, see ya.”
The comments set off a firestorm on social media.
“I guess it did get a lot of attention, obviously,” Keith said to a throng of reporters. “Everybody’s here right now. But, for me, I’ve moved on.”
Thomson, in a tweet on Tuesday, said: “Hockey is an emotional game and things are often said in the heat of the moment. I think this is what happened last night. I’ve moved on.”
When asked if he needed to apologize or call Thomson, Keith said: “There was no intent from my point. I respect everybody, I respect everybody’s job and I’ve dealt with a lot of different people over the years. Sometimes I get fired up; I don’t like to lose. And sometimes I can be — I get frustrated after a loss, and that’s, to me, where it was at. That’s the story.”
Bolland out
Center Dave Bolland missed Wednesday’s game after suffering a groin injury against Vancouver. Coach Joel Quenneville said he’s day-to-day and is optimistic that Bolland will be back in time for the start of the playoffs, either next Tuesday or Wednesday.
Emery back in
Ray Emery made his first start in net since April 15. He sat two games with a lower-body injury before dressing as Corey Crawford’s backup Monday in Vancouver. While Crawford appears poised to be the Hawks’ goalie for the playoffs, Quenneville said he has yet to make such a decision.
“Right now, we’re just going along here, and we’ll see how it plays out,” Quenneville said.
