Open Letter to Gary Bettman

Leaders of the NHL,

You are willing to cut off your own nose to spite your face. Mr. Bettman's selfish pride and palpable hatred for Mr. Goodenow (who is equally self-serving and irresponsible) has irreparably ruined the sport that I've loved since I was a child. Your billionaire owners can't control their own spending, so you have to cancel the season to make some sort of stupid point. And at whose expense? The fans. The people who make a living thanks to hockey, (vendors, bar and restaurant owners, stadium personnel). The sport.

Mr. Bettman, you should be ashamed of yourself. The fact that you think 6.5 million dollars in the pocket of a billionaire is more important than the game is perfectly emblematic of your short-sightedness and why you are unqualified to be the NHL commissioner. You never negotiated in good faith. You never had any intention of playing this season. You don’t love the game. You love only money and good publicity, and you’re horrible at that too, by the way. You do not deserve to be associated with a sport as noble and dignified as hockey. Why don't you try the NBA? I’m sure after a few years of you in charge, they’ll be the laughingstock of the sports world too.

I've been a hockey fan, a Red Wings fan, an NHL fan since I learned to talk. Until Gary Bettman resigns, I will never watch another NHL game.

The league's biggest ex-fan,
Michael Grant