Kris Versteeg: Gary Bettman, Bill Daly are ‘cancers’, have been ‘looting this game for far too long’
It's never been a big secret that the players don't think too highly of Gary Bettman, but as this lockout drags on and frustration mounts, they're beginning to get more vocal about it. On Friday, Ian White made plain his opinion on Bettman, saying, "I personally think he's an idiot." On Monday, it was Kris Versteeg's turn to take a shot at the commish.
Versteeg has been known for his ability to rhyme and rip in the past, and he did plenty of the latter during an appearance on TSN 1050 Monday afternoon with Bryan Hayes and Jamie McLennan. When asked how he felt about the ongoing CBA negotiations, he had this to say:
I'm really frustrated. It's not good. You do try to look at the best-case scenarios moving forward once the CBA does get done, and you gotta look for the cancers and you gotta cut out the cancers and I think that when you look at Bill Daly and Bettman, they've been looting this game for far too long.
I don't know about that, and not just because I'm from Vancouver so I know how to recognize a looter. That just seems pretty harsh.
Versteeg stuck to his guns, however. When asked to confirm that he's saying Gary Bettman and Bill Daly should be gone:
I do believe so. You've gotta look at the fans and they've been left with too many bad tastes in their mouths for too many years and I think when this is all said and done it'll be a good time to finally make that happen.
Sounds like the fans aren't the only ones with a bad taste in their mouths.
Regardless of your opinions on Bettman and Daly, I think we can all agree that this isn't all that helpful right now. With the players and the union headed back to the table Monday night, a certain level of mutual respect would be ideal.
Speaking of mutual respect: prior to ripping Bettman and Daly, Versteeg also spoke briefly about doing a little coaching at the University of Lethbridge. "You wanna treat players the same way you want to be treated," he said of what he had learned.
That's a pretty standard principle, and Versteeg would do well to realize that it applies to more than just players.
