Team USA is justifiably upset after a performance that was less than stellar. Putting the icing on top of the cake is the tweet that came courtesy of Team USA snub, Phil Kessel. Rubbing salt in the wound though may not have been the best idea for players he will be facing off against later this year.
[link_box id=”22277″ site_id=”17″ layout=”link-box-third” alignment=”alignright”]Here’s Kessel’s original comment:
Just sitting around the house tonight w my dog. Felt like I should be doing something important, but couldn't put my finger on it.
— Phil Kessel (@PKessel81) September 21, 2016
The comment is hilarious but it is obviously not pointed at the players themselves. It is more of a jab at the management. That point aside, it isn’t stopping players from speaking out.
Asked about Kessel, Zach Parise: "Didn't Phil have surgery? I don't think he could even play, anyway. His tweet didn't really make sense."
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) September 21, 2016
Parise has a point as Kessel wouldn’t be playing anyway even if he was selected.
David Backes said it's disappointing that former USA players were critical on social media last night. "Distasteful and aggravating"
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) September 21, 2016
Backes is the one taking it way, way, way too seriously. Finally, a hockey player opens up and people are upset about it. They shouldn’t be upset at all as the real onus should be on their performance. Deflecting towards someone else is an easy way to avoid criticism. True leadership comes from owning up to your mistakes and improving from them.
They can’t do that now or any time soon since they were eliminated.
If Team USA put as much focus on their selection process and strategies on the ice as they have to the comments made on Twitter, maybe they wouldn’t have been booted in the group stage.
