Colourful NHL executive Brian Burke has been sent to the sin bin by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council for urging a team to finish off its opponent..Burke in a Sportsnet West broadcast last September 4 complained the Colorado Avalanche lacked a competitive spirit, Blacklock’s Reporter said. .“I thought when they went up three-two they got complacent. When a team you’re playing is flat, that’s when you gotta put your boot on their throat and put your full body weight on it. They had a chance to put the game away.”.That was enough for the just-appointed executive of the Pittsburgh Penguins to put in the sin bin by the CBSC..“Even if understood as a metaphor, it promotes a level of aggression and violence that could be fatal and well exceeds the customary rough and tumble of a hockey game,” wrote the CBSC..They ruled Burke’s remarks were in poor taste following the May 25 death of George Floyd that prompted Black Lives Matter protests. .“The panel is of the view that the expression ‘you gotta put your boot on their throat and put your full body weight on it’ is not one that is commonly used in sports or otherwise,” wrote the Council..Black Lives Matter protests “have made us all reexamine terms or expressions that may have been used in the past, and whether in today’s environment they are appropriate or acceptable,” said the ruling. .“The fact is Mr. Burke was suggesting it is acceptable to deal with complacency through a violent and graphic act. NHL hockey games reach a national audience of all ages, including many young viewers.”.Burke was cited for breaching the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ Violence Code that prohibits “gratuitous violence in any form” or any reference that “sanctions, promotes or glamorizes violence.” The ruling carries no penalty, though Sportsnet must announce the ruling within a week as a condition of its federal license..“Commentators can still use colourful expressions to make their point,” said the Council. .“There are numerous expressions that could vividly portray the message a commentator wishes to make.”.Approved metaphors include “go for the jugular,” “put them out of their misery,” “take off their heads” and other sports clichés “clearly understood as metaphors that simply encourage a team to do better,” wrote panelists. .The Council noted in 1997, it ruled a basketball commentator’s call to “assassinate the (Sacramento) Kings” was not a prohibited reference to the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King..Burke quit Sportsnet February 9 to take appointment as president of hockey operations for the Pittsburgh Penguins. He has held executive roles with Canadian teams in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto..Sportsnet defended his comment. .“While it may have been an unfortunate choice of words given the events and sensitivity surrounding the protests, Mr. Burke did not intend this phrase to reference the murder of George Floyd or any of the events surrounding the Black Lives Matter protests,” wrote the network..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.Twitter.com/nobby7694
