Burrows apologizes over comments made to O'Sullivan about abuse
Patrick O'Sullivan has been very open about his troubled past.
After revealing a childhood of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of his father to the Canadian Press back in October, the former NHLer has written a book about what he went through, which was excerpted in a powerful piece called "Black and Blue" in "The Players' Tribune" on Dec. 9.
On Thursday, O'Sullivan revealed on Twitter that Vancouver Canucks forward Alex Burrows taunted him on the ice about the abuse he suffered:
@TheNHLisCrazy @PuckLuck1 @BruceIsOnline @vijayk416 Burrows only guy who said he wanted to hurt me like me father did-why I can't stand him
— Patrick O'Sullivan (@realPOSULLIVAN) December 17, 2015
The incident happened years ago, but Burrows was asked about it after Thursday's Canucks game, and was apologetic about his actions, saying he didn't know the full extent of what O'Sullivan had been through.
"I apologize if I offended him back then," Burrows said, according to TSN's Frank Seravalli. "I did say some stuff that may now, looking back ... I could see how it would've offended him, like a lot of things I said back in the day. I read his story on 'The Players' Tribune.' It's tough to see."
Burrows says that the O'Sullivan back story is bigger than he ever thought and he apologizes now that he knows the magnitude.
— Dan Murphy (@sportsnetmurph) December 18, 2015
O'Sullivan's past came to light back in 2003 in an ESPN story, according to Seravalli, and Burrows brought it up on the ice during a game years later.
"At the time, I believed in whatever it took to stay in the league," Burrows said Thursday. "In the heat of the moment, especially when I first came in, I was playing six or seven minutes a night on the fourth line. I wanted to help any way I could. And if I could get one guy off his game, get in someone's kitchen, I was willing to do it to help our team and maybe get on the power play."
Burrows is no stranger to controversy. New Jersey Devils forward Jordin Tootoo accused the Canucks winger of "classless and unacceptable" trash talk in early November, saying Burrows targeted Tootoo and his family personally.
Burrows defended himself, saying he didn't think he crossed any line. Tootoo's been open about his struggles with substance abuse, and lost his brother to suicide in 2002 after a drunk driving arrest.
On Thursday night, Burrows maintained that what he said to Tootoo was within the boundaries, and, now 34 and approaching 35, Burrows said he's matured as both a hockey player and a person.