Last week we reported that Boston Bruin Brad Marchand has been making headlines for a unique form of agitation during the game: his fondness for licking and kissing opponent's faces.
When reporters asked him about licking and kissing Leo Komarov of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Marchand replied: “He keeps trying to get close to me. I don't know if he's got a thing for me or what. He's cute.”
On Friday, Marchand did it again, licking Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Ryan Callahan.
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) May 5, 2018
Marchand told ESPN: “Well, he punched me four times in the face, so you know, he just kept getting close.”
That was apparently the last straw for the NHL, which had previously said it hadn't told him to stop doing it.
The organization tweeted: “NHL's Colin Campbell spoke with Boston's Brad Marchand and GM Don Sweeney today. The League put the player on notice that his actions last night are unacceptable and similar behavior in the future will be dealt with by way of supplemental discipline.”
NHL's Colin Campbell spoke with Boston's Brad Marchand and GM Don Sweeney today. The League put the player on notice that his actions last night are unacceptable and similar behavior in the future will be dealt with by way of supplemental discipline.
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) May 5, 2018
You may have read about Marchand on this site before, when he spoke to ESPN about a tweet he wrote in late December denouncing a fan who called him a “fag”, and about his support for gay people in general.
Replied Marchand to the tweet (since deleted): “This derogatory statement is offensive to many people around the world your the kind of kid parents are ashamed of.”
Marchand got much support for his tweet.
Added Marchand at the time: “I want to stand up for what I believe in, and I don't think it's right when people say things or bash people because of their sexual orientation. I have friends who are in gay relationships, and I don't think it's right for people to be against that. Everyone is allowed to find love whatever way that is, so I felt like that was a time to say something, especially nowadays. We're in 2017, and things are a lot different than they were 100 years ago. We're all evolving to be equal, and that's the way things should be.”
Marchand also said that pro hockey is ready for a gay player: “Guys would accept that, no question. We're a team in the [dressing] room and a family. It doesn't matter what different beliefs guys have, or where they come from, or whatever the case may be. Guys would accept it. Again, in the room we're a family. That's the way it is on a hockey team, and that's the way it will always be…It's bound to happen at some point, and when it does, it will be accepted.”
