New Blue Jackets coach Mike Babcock blasts report suggesting he was invading his players’ privacy
-
Share on Facebook
-
Share on Bluesky
-
Share on X
- Copy Link
New Columbus Blue Jackets coach Mike Babcock said Tuesday he had done nothing wrong in asking players to show him photos off their phones, clarifying he was trying to get to know them after a report emerged criticizing him for invasion of privacy.
Paul Bissonnette said on the ‘Spittin’ Chiclets’ podcast he was told by an unidentified player that Babcock asked captain Boone Jenner to show him photos. Bissonnette, a former NHL player-turned-analyst for TNT, relayed he was informed Babcock told Jenner: “Let me see the photos in your phone. I want to know the type of person you are.”
Babcock and Jenner in a joint statement released by the Blue Jackets called it “a gross misrepresentation of those meetings and extremely offensive.” Jenner said the meeting was a good start to his relationship with Babcock and expressed disappointment.
“While meeting with our players and staff I asked them to share, off their phones, family pictures as part of the process of getting to know them better,” Babcock said. “These meetings have been very important and beneficial, not only for me but for our players and staff, as well. And to have them depicted like this is irresponsible and completely inaccurate.”
