Crosby Scoffs At Report He Is Protesting The All-Star Game

Added on Jan 18, 2011 by J Merrill in

NHL

On January 6^th, Sidney Crosby suffered a concussion, and has been missing games ever since. There was a report a few days ago, that Crosby was mad because he thought the NHL could be doing more to protect the players, and he was so mad that he was going to sit out the All Star game. Crosby told ESPN that was ridiculous.

Crosby said “That’s not even close to accurate, I still haven’t ruled out being there. Hopefully, in the next few days things get better. There’s a slight chance I can still be back for that. That’s what I’m hoping. If I can be there, I’ll be there.” Even Crosby’s agent, Pat Brisson, said he was mad about being hurt, but thats as far as it went. He said “He hasn’t told me anything like that. Of course he’s angry that he’s hurt. But we’ve never even discussed the All-Star Game.”

Crosby who said he may have gotten a slight concussion at the Winter Classic, but felt OK enough to play the 5^th against Tampa Bay. Unfortunately, Crosby was driven head first into the boards, and was really rattled. He has said he feels better some days, but he really wants to get back out there. He said “Some days you feel good. You feel like you’ve made progress. Some days are a little bit tougher.”

NHL executive Brendan Shanahan is the executive running the All-Star festivities, said he spoke with Crosby, and Crosby wasn’t angry at all. Shanahan said “Sidney let me know that if there was anything he could do for the All-Star Game to let him know. He had a great attitude about the whole thing. But the majority of our conversation was more about concussions and our personal experiences.”

Back on January 8^th, Crosby spoke to the media, and he was obviously frustrated about being out of the game, and was upset that more isn’t being done to protect the players. He said “You talk about head shots and dealing with them, and that’s been something that’s been pretty big points of interest with everybody. When I look at those two hits, I mean, we talk about blindside, and that’s a big word — unsuspecting player, there’s no puck there, and direct hit to the head on both of them. If you want to go through the criteria, I think they fit all those. I know it’s a fast game, and I think if anybody understands it’s a fast game — I’ve been hit a thousand times.” Crosby concluded, “But when you get hit like that, there’s nothing you can do. There’s no way you can protect yourself. Those are things that hopefully the NHL pays more attention to.”

The Pittsburgh Penguins (28-14-4, 60pts), who are 2nd in the Atlantic Division, will play the Red Wings(28-11-6, 62pts) tonight in Pittsburgh.