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Scheifele Calls Bullying Family Has Received “Unacceptable” and “Gross”

Mark Scheifele says he can deal with consequences of his hit on Jake Evans, but the bullying and hate his family has received is unacceptable.

An emotional Mark Scheifele addressed the bullying his family has received over the past few days. The Winnipeg Jets forward spoke to the media about his hit on Jake Evans of the Montreal Canadiens and noted that while he can accept the consequences of his actions and be held accountable for a hit he thought was given an “excessive” suspension, the treatment his family has received is unacceptable.

Related: Mark Scheifele Walks Through Hit on Evans, Calls Suspension “Excessive”

Mark Scheifele thought the four-game suspension was a bit much, but says he can handle the punishment and whatever comes with his decision to lay in a heavy and dangerous hit. But, he also had trouble describing what his family has been going through since that game. Saying they’ve been bullied, harrassed online and phoned by fans who are mad at him, they are taking a ton of abuse on social media.

“I can accept the punishment, I can accept the accountability, you know that’s what you sign up for being in the NHL. The hate that my family has gotten, the bullying that they’ve gotten is completely unacceptable, you know, online, phone calls, you know it’s pretty gross to see. My parents are the salt of the earth. For my parents to get hate like that any my bother and sister, it’s awful. You know, I can handle it. I’m a grown man.”

He added, “for my family to get that, it hurts me a lot.”

Fans Have Passed Crossed Over The Line Of Right and Wrong in Sports

Regardless of what you think of the Scheifele hit — I personally thought it was a boneheaded move that was done with an intent to just crush a fellow hockey player with a heavy hit — calling and harassing someone’s family over it is not the way to go. This is just more evidence that fans have crossed far beyond what is included in their rights to be fans.

Mark Scheifele Winnipeg Jets Upper Deck
Mark Scheifele Winnipeg Jets Upper Deck

Lately, whether it’s dumping popcorn on a player or spitting on someone, there is more and more evidence to suggest that the small minority of fans are giving the vast majority a bad rep. Just recently, Edmonton Oilers defenseman Ethan Bear received racist messages because he turned over a puck in his own zone during a crucial Game 4 between the Oilers and Jets. It’s one thing to critique the play, it’s another to use race and prejudices to do so.

Scheifele’s family is off limits here. There’s absolutely no reason a fan should feel so upset about a hit that it would warrant bringing his parents and siblings into the mix. He’s paying for the hit with a suspension and his team may ultimately be eliminated from the playoffs because of it. He’ll also likely have to fight someone from the Canadiens if he gets back into the series before it ends. That should be enough.

No one wants to see what happened to Evans be a regular thing in the NHL. That the player was hurt on the play is not the end result anyone was looking for, including possibly Scheifele who likely was focused on taking a player out. But it’s not likely his intent was to jeopardize Evans’ ability to play in the NHL again.

If the Canadiens can identify who these fans are that are harassing Scheifele’s family, there should be real consideration to banning them from future games.

Next: Wayne Simmonds Unsure About His Future With Maple Leafs

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