I am really surprised at the lack of attention this incident received.
Especially considered the amount of attention some other non-controversies received at the Olympics. But it appears to have been buried under Canadian victory jubilation.
This video was shot after Russia lost 7-3 to Canada in the Quarterfinals (and I’m sure Canadians remember that Ovechkin played not-so-good).
Okay so sure, maybe Mr. Ovechkin was a little upset after the loss. But he seems to have walked out of his way to push this fan. She wasn’t following him, she wasn’t yelling at him, she was just taping him. And apparently she wasn’t wearing a team Canada jersey, because this fan was a Russian….. a female Russian who came all the way to Canada to see the Olympics.
For someone who is supposed to be one of the faces of the NHL, this behaviour is really unacceptable.
“That’s why even though I didn’t really like seeing Ovechkin forcefully push away that fan’s phone, I find it harder and harder to get upset about it. In this era of people refusing to respect others’ privacy, we’re going to see more and more of this.” said Elliot Friedman in his blog.
Unfortunately I think Friedman’s comments miss the mark. I’m not sure the fan refused to respect Ovechkin’s privacy. If he really didn’t want to be taped, he could just ask. If he asked and then she refused to stop taping — then, and only then, would she be ‘not respecting his privacy’.
But instead the big-shot — too busy talking on his cellphone to converse with a lowly fan — decides to push her out of the way.
Would he have done the same if the score was inversed? What if he scored a hattrick in a 7-3 quarterfinal win over Canada? I’m figuring that he probably would’ve been soaking up the love.
Jennifer Casey was born and raised in Halifax. She loves all sports but tries to stick to writing about hockey for sanity purposes. You can follow her on twitter @jenncaseyhfx or find her on her blog National Passtime
