Reporter reflects on relationship between athletes, media after testy exchange with Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl
Global News
Matheson's name was trending on Twitter after a tense exchange at a post-practice media availability with Leon Draisaitl, one of the Edmonton Oilers' two superstar centres.
A veteran Edmonton sports reporter whose career has seen him be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame says he believes it’s more difficult for journalists to smooth things over when there’s friction with an athlete than it used to be.
“It’s not supposed to be an adversarial relationship between the media and the players,” Postemedia writer Jim Matheson told Reid Wilkins of 630 CHED’s Inside Sports radio program on Tuesday night. “I’ve been doing this a long time. I think I’m very fair at what I do.”
Matheson’s name was trending on Twitter for much of the day after a tense exchange at a post-practice media availability with Leon Draisaitl, one of the Edmonton Oilers‘ two superstar centres.
“Obviously, something I’ve written or said has ticked him off, but I have no idea what that is,” Matheson said.
Matheson asked the German-born Draisaitl questions after the Oilers practised at Edmonton’s Rogers Place on Tuesday about the team being mired in a weeks-long funk after a dominant start to their NHL season.
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The journalist, who has covered the Oilers for about 40 years, asked Draisaitl if, amid the team’s second six-game losing streak, he had thought the team was past getting into such slumps after the Oilers’ last two regular seasons were quite successful.
“Sure. Yeah,” Draisaitl said.