The Boston Bruins on Friday granted goalie Tuukka Rask a leave of absence, and fans don’t know why.
And that’s the point.
The Bruins said Rask will leave the team to tend to a “personal matter,” which opens the door for many possible explanations. For that reason, it would be highly inappropriate to suggest Rask’s leave is a direct result of his admittedly poor play to begin the season. What if Rask is dealing with something especially serious? Again, we have no idea.
But that didn’t stop ESPN’s Keith Olbermann from firing off this insensitive tweet:
Is Tuukka Rask’s leave backdated to 9:40 of the third period last night? https://t.co/0Q9pg40hL9
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) November 9, 2018
Olbermann, of course, was referring to an ugly goal Rask gave up Thursday in Boston’s 8-5 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.
NHL fans (not just Bruins fans) took Olbermann to task for the tweet. Here’s some of the reaction:
Dude, I’m a Canucks fan and I can’t stand the bruins, but this is uncalled for.
— Jeremy (@extra_large_oof) November 10, 2018
https://twitter.com/mccloudjosh/status/1061018668270829571
Class act. A real class act.
— Nick Shenk (@Nick_Shenk) November 9, 2018
https://twitter.com/nh1ogan/status/1061034847617990656
You sir just got unfollowed
— Devon Cloutier (@DCloot) November 9, 2018
Wow. This guy wants help for dogs but had no compassion for people with problems. Hope it never happens to him.
— Scott Parker (@MrScottParker) November 10, 2018
https://twitter.com/NatGridSafety/status/1061029739358547969
— Tony Kubik (@TonyKubik) November 10, 2018
Come to Boston and say that at a bar! You’ll get so many laughs! Ha ha!
— General Joie de Vivre (@scammyjenkins) November 10, 2018
How do you maintain employment
— Alex (@JetpackAlex) November 10, 2018
https://twitter.com/sullivanempire/status/1061045850242076672
I sure hope you're "In the know" and the leave isn't related to a serious health issue with one of Tuukka's family
— Steve Kapetanakis (@stevekap) November 9, 2018
Listen, Olbermann is entitled to say whatever he wants. And, let’s be honest: He probably isn’t the only person drawing a line between Rask’s play and leave of absence.
But there’s a time and a place for everything, and this tweet certainly missed the mark.
