I don't get it. The guy has a feud with Hasek and gets blackballed from the league, while a guy like Mike Keenan feuds with everyone and is now coaching his 235th team.
2007-10-25 05:12:10 · 11 answers · asked by jpaultk 2 in Sports ➔ Hockey
Is it just pure racism?
2007-10-25 05:12:58 · update #1
I'm gonna say that the Hasek's wife thing is pure rumor. But, like I said, guys like Keenan piss off their bosses all the time and continue to get jobs, so you can't say in all certainty that race has nothing to do with it. Unless it's just Muckler's influence.
2007-10-25 09:03:28 · update #2
Having had the pleasure of knowing the Hasek family when they lived in Buff., it is completely unbelievable about the Nolan rumor. Best guess is he did upset Dom, but more importantly John Muckler who carried alot of weight around the league. A tinge of racism thrown in probably didn't hurt because Nolan wasn't part of the old boys network..those coaches who get hired and fired etc. I won't mention them all, but Mike Keenan is the poster boy (Hitchcock, LeMaire, Crawford etc.) Look at the idea that Pat Quinn might be in in Atlanta..It was easy to blackball Nolan, spread a malicious rumor. Thank goodness he's back because he, of all peoiple, deserved at least one more shot.
2007-10-25 12:21:51 · answer #1 · answered by Dragon17 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As long as the traditional minorities are gaining positions in the workplace you're always going to have the race card flashed in your face.
Ted Nolan burned bridges with his bosses and I also heard that he had an affair with a players wife. If a Caucasian had met the same fate as Nolan, then this question would be a moot point.
The fact that it has taken so long for him to get hired can be for many reasons and we may never know them all. But I'm sure that Ted's ethnicity has very little to do with it.
2007-10-25 07:31:36 · answer #2 · answered by Awesome Bill 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Would you be first in line to hire a guy who slept with one of his players' wives? Not exactly the first person you'd expect a team to warm up to. Not saying that it was all deserved, though. Hasek has always been a diva and a drama queen and causes problems for anyone who's not on his good side. He was a great player here in Buffalo, but the fans weren't overly-saddened by his departure. I don't know how much racism is going on in the league; I'm not there listening behind closed doors to be able to make that deduction, but that could be a part of it, too. Hockey (and understand before I say this that I truly love the sport) is played mainly by middle and upper-class "white" (in quotes because white is a social construction) Americans and Canadians, or Eastern Europeans. Not so much diversity among the North Americans in the league. Anyway, the Isles are doing well this season and most of us here in Buffalo wish him nothing but the best.
2007-10-25 05:31:23 · answer #3 · answered by Cat Loves Her Sabres 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't believe the stories about him sleeping with anyone's wife as the gentleman who owns the Moncton Wildcats never would have hired him were that the case, and he would have a full dossier prepared on anyone he was hiring to coach his team.
The fact is Nolan was offered some NHL head coaching positions that he declined, until the Islanders made him a first rate offer. All good things come to those who wait?
2007-10-25 10:01:34 · answer #4 · answered by michinoku2001 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know. I <3 Ted Nolan. He is a great coach and he will always be one of the Sabres greatest.
Hasek is a pansy... who just happens to be a really good goaltender. So I can't say he sucks, but I would really like to. Damn him...
2007-10-25 10:35:43 · answer #5 · answered by green 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It wasn't just the Hasek problems that kept him out of the league, he also butted heads with John Muckler who was GM of the Sabres during Nolans tenure. Muckler had some serious influence on the other GMs during the 90s.
cme - rumors have it that Nolan was sleeping with Haseks wife, I dont blame him, she was hot.
2007-10-25 06:00:03 · answer #6 · answered by tdr8256 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
all i can give is my opinion on the race part and to that i say ... the nhl is the only major sport in n america where race isnt that much of an issue. with so much of the league haveing background that cover the spectrum the color of ones skin seems to be the least of the problems. seems to me that the nhl is doing fine in that area and judges people by abilty first.
thats not saying fans are all that way and there hasnt been problems in the past
2007-10-25 10:44:35 · answer #7 · answered by Jay Argentina 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He was given a bad name around the league by 1 or 2 people(not sure what was true and false). The NHL is very close knit, unlike the other leagues and many just follow suit.
2007-10-25 07:55:22 · answer #8 · answered by Bryan 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I never could figure that out. IMO he's a better fit for most teams than Keenan, especially with the rules being interpreted as they are.
2007-10-25 05:32:02 · answer #9 · answered by cme 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I heard that he tried to get his boss fired. I don't recall all the details now, but trying to get your boss fired is not a good move for the future of your career.
2007-10-25 06:34:55 · answer #10 · answered by Nic 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋