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Cross-Checked In The Press Box
by Paul on 05/15/09 at 08:12 PM ET
Comments (47)
from myFOXdetroit,
While the players were on the ice exchanging handshakes, high above in an executive suite Ducks General Manager Bob Murray was seething over the controversial goal that ended his team’s quest for the Stanley Cup.
A Detroit Police report lead to an assault investigation involving Murray. An upset and angry Murray, the report notes, picked up a high bar stool and hit 55-year-old Rachel Paris on the left chest, arm and shoulder area. She was treated by first aid personnel and interviewed by police.
Paris said in a phone interview she was in the press box working as a stage manager for a media outlet that she would not identify. A passionate Red Wings fan, Paris said Murray was apparently upset over her enthusiasm and used a stool on her to express his displeasure.
“I was taken to the boards by Bob Murray and survived the hit. I felt like I was cross-checked and I didn’t even have the puck,” said Paris.
Should Murray be charged with a criminal misconduct? Paris said “no” and declined to file a formal police complaint.
added 9:22pm, On the hockey side of things, Bob Murray spoke to media members today, read the transcript at AnaheimDucks.com.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Anaheim Ducks | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Bob+Murray,
Comments
I guess their behavior filters down from the top.
Riviera, I edited your comment, I don’t even want to go there, do hope you understand, - Paul
Posted by Riviera from the PHX on 05/15/09 at 08:24 PM ET
Holy ...
Because he was upset and angry, he hit a middle-aged woman in the upper body with a bar stool? What is with this guy - my nephew is FOUR YEARS OLD, and he’s already learned that hitting someone when you are upset is not proper behaviour. What an ass.
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 05/15/09 at 08:28 PM ET
C-L-O-W-N
Just like everyone else involved in that organization.
Posted by Primis on 05/15/09 at 08:30 PM ET
Riviera, I understand, no problem on my end, if there was, the whole comment would have been deleted. Just thought it was best to do a little edit…
Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 05/15/09 at 08:36 PM ET
And we’re classless Red Wings fans?
Wow, talk is awful cheap when their brass is so classless.
Posted by MOWingsfan19 on 05/15/09 at 08:42 PM ET
WWBBD???
If you think Bob Murray is trouble, imagine if Burke was still there…
Posted by Forechecker from Nolensville, TN on 05/15/09 at 08:58 PM ET
People, please. This is just good, hard-nosed Canadian hockey.
Go back to Russia if you don;t like it.
Posted by Mandingo from The Garage on 05/15/09 at 09:08 PM ET
It has no bearing on Murray’s behavior in the least, but aren’t people in the press box supposed to refrain from obvious partisanship? I was invited into the Verizon Center press box once during the first season out of the lockout and was given strict instructions not to cheer for the Caps while I was there or I would be asked to leave.
Posted by false_cause from DC on 05/15/09 at 09:23 PM ET
Playing hockey in the press box, eh? I’ll bet the ice is horrible up there. 
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 05/15/09 at 09:24 PM ET
Wow..lucky he’s not going to have charges. I would have had police haul his butt to jail or at least demanded a public apology. Am I surprised, not really. As one of the posters said above, it starts at the top. If he went nuts over this, I wonder what he thought of the quick whistle on Hossa’s goal.
Posted by UMFan from Colorado on 05/15/09 at 09:25 PM ET
It has no bearing on Murray’s behavior in the least
Ok, so belt a lady with a barstool? Wow buddy.
Posted by MOWingsfan19 on 05/15/09 at 09:35 PM ET
It has no bearing on Murray’s behavior in the least
Man where were you when they picked my jury?
Posted by Django on 05/15/09 at 09:41 PM ET
A couple of nights at Beaubien might do this gutless wonder some good.
Lets Go Red Wings!!!!!
Posted by Kate from Pa.-made in Detroit on 05/15/09 at 09:44 PM ET
You completely misunderstand me.
My statement should be read such that Murray’s behavior is in no way excused even if Paris did violate the decorum of the pressbox.
I was simply asking, as an aside, if there are different rules for different press boxes given that I got different instructions in my experience.
FWIW, In DC attacking someone with a barstool is assault with a deadly weapon and you’re likely to be booked even if the person you attack does not want to press charges.
Posted by false_cause from DC on 05/15/09 at 09:47 PM ET
WWBBD???
If you think Bob Murray is trouble, imagine if Burke was still there…
C’mon Dirk… we both know Burkie would have sighed, facepalmed, dialed up Toronto, and asked for a job…
Posted by Primis on 05/15/09 at 09:49 PM ET
This is shockingly ridiculous behavior.
It has no bearing on Murray’s behavior in the least, but aren’t people in the press box supposed to refrain from obvious partisanship? I was invited into the Verizon Center press box once during the first season out of the lockout and was given strict instructions not to cheer for the Caps while I was there or I would be asked to leave.
Posted by false_cause from DC on 05/15/09 at 10:23 PM ET
Ok, I understand your point, but it doesn’t have any relevance here. So what if she expressed interest in her favorite team winning? Maybe it wasn’t the most professional thing, but who cares? I don’t see the relevance of this. It would have been one thing if he, perhaps just shouted at her, and they said the reason…but the man allegedly attacked this woman. Physically.
I don’t care who you are. That is never appropriate.
Posted by BuzzFledderjohn on 05/15/09 at 09:51 PM ET
I agree with you completely BuzzFledderjohn. I was just not clear if different arenas had different expectations of pressbox behavior.
If she was being unprofessional in her enthusiasm, it perhaps would have warranted a dirty look from Murray. Obviously physically attacking someone is beyond the pale.
Posted by false_cause from DC on 05/15/09 at 09:56 PM ET
Shows Red Wing fans have no limit to their arrogance and lack of respect for others. He shouldn’t have hit her with the stool, but it is very apparent she was way over the line, evidenced by her refusal to press charges.
Posted by Tero from Tacoma on 05/15/09 at 10:01 PM ET
Is the “no cheering in the press box” for everyone, or just for media and such? That could make a difference. It’s not clear what capacity she was present in - it also doesn’t say what she did. A whoop of joy at a goal is very different from a taunting victory dance.
Posted by Tero from Tacoma on 05/15/09 at 11:01 PM ET
Thank you for adding so much to the discussion. /rolls eyes
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 05/15/09 at 10:16 PM ET
Theres decorum in a press box. Please. It’s called assault, throw his sorry butt in jail.
He beat up a girl! What am I missing?!
Go smack your significant other around and tell the cops that show up that he/she/it violated decorum in your house. Jeebus.
Posted by Rumbear from Top O da Hasek, sippin rum & catchin some rays on 05/15/09 at 10:20 PM ET
If the Wings were so superior and the Ducks were a “bunch of bitches”, then why did it take Detroit seven games to beat Anaheim?
It’s like toying with a rodent, or some other vermin, before you get rid of it. The end result is a foregone conclusion, teh journey is the thing.
Posted by Rumbear from Top O da Hasek, sippin rum & catchin some rays on 05/15/09 at 10:22 PM ET
That what I call TAKING ONE FOR THE TEAM.
Posted by dbcooper from parts unknown on 05/15/09 at 10:41 PM ET
“I was taken to the boards by Bob Murray and survived the hit. I felt like I was cross-checked and I didn’t even have the puck,” said Paris.
This woman has a wicked sense of humor. Anyone know if she’s single?
The asininity of Murray’s actions in the executive suite aside, anyone else find this part of his Q&A on the Ducks’ site a bit frightening (if it’s true)?
With the fact that I think the cap will be a little less this year. Say it’s 55, 54, I really truly believe from the numbers we’re hearing around the league and the sales of tickets for next year that revenues will be down next year and that the cap will drop maybe below 50.
Everything I’ve heard until that statement was that the cap probably would go up to about $57.6M next year. Murray’s saying he thinks it will go down to $55M or $54M. And that for the 2010-2011 season, it could be below $50M. If those figures are accurate, the only way Hossa stays next year is if he plays for the same money Mule got ($3.95M per).
But all of that may be a moot point anyway. In his press conference, Babs made it perfectly clear (okay, as “clear” as he ever makes anything) that they’re watching closely to see who really has what it takes come playoff time. And so far, Hossa has been pretty invisible.
Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 05/15/09 at 10:59 PM ET
It’s called assault, throw his sorry butt in jail.
I believe its called battery. I’m not a lawyer, but one of the very few things I remember from business law is the difference between assault and battery. Assault is the intent to threat bodily harm. Battery is the actual act that causes bodily harm, ie the chair being thrown and actually hitting her causing bodily harm. Two separate charges I believe. People confuse those two all the time, including reporters.
Posted by UMFan from Colorado on 05/15/09 at 11:02 PM ET
If it was truly a serious incident, she will sue Murray/Ducks in civil court for big $$$$$$. If not, then it sounds like an attention whore.
Posted by Bill from St. Albans, VT on 05/16/09 at 02:15 AM ET
As much as I’d like to not call BS, I’m calling BS. If you don’t press charges when someone throws a stool at you, then no one threw a stool at you. Makes zero sense.
Posted by stoneman from Vegas on 05/16/09 at 04:44 AM ET
She might not want to press charges because if she wasn’t smacked hard enough to have serious injuries, it isn’t worth the trouble. I can think of things I wouldn’t press charges for because the pain in the butt wouldn’t be worth it.
Probably a stupid stunt that he wishes he didn’t pull, but no major injuries afterwards.
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 05/16/09 at 07:17 AM ET
People, please. This is just good, hard-nosed Canadian hockey.
Go back to Russia if you don;t like it.
She was, of course, just standing there admiring her team’s goal.
If you don’t press charges when someone throws a stool at you, then no one threw a stool at you.
We don’t all belong to the school of thought that says “If someone does something to me, I’m going to take their grandchildren’s tuition”. If she wasn’t that badly hurt, just shrug it off.
Posted by MarkK from Maryland on 05/16/09 at 08:03 AM ET
Murray denied throwing the chair at Paris.
“It was a complete accident,” he told The Times on Friday. “I’ve spoken with her and cleared it all up.”
-via Helene Elliott of the LA Times
Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 05/16/09 at 08:08 AM ET
It’s called assault, throw his sorry butt in jail.
I believe its called battery. I’m not a lawyer
You may not be a lawyer, but wager “someone” else is.
Murray denied throwing the chair at Paris.
“It was a complete accident,” he told The Times on Friday. “I’ve spoken with her and cleared it all up.”
So he just classily heaved a barstool across the press box like an 8 year old tosses their helmet when striking out? That barstool just so happened to come to a stop on a Wings fan. That still oozes class.
Posted by MOWingsfan19 on 05/16/09 at 08:26 AM ET
an LA Times followup to this
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-ducks-bob-murray16-2009may16,0,6345615.story
Posted by Speedy Sammich from DTown on 05/16/09 at 08:34 AM ET
There would have been a lot of other people in that room who would have seen what happened. Has anyone spoken to any of them?
Posted by Jennemy of the Skate from putting the b*tches in the box on 05/16/09 at 09:24 AM ET
Did Murray not have access to a folding chair?
Stay classy Anaheim. One day you’ll be able to express anger and frustration with words rather than petulant actions. Y’know, like a civilized adult.
Posted by Aphaea from Pennsylvania on 05/16/09 at 09:33 AM ET
Sounds like he was upset, threw a chair in a crowded, public area. I believe that he had no intention of hurting anyone, but sometimes you gotta be an adult and, uh, I don’t know, not throw a chair in public. Doucheface.
Posted by Nathan from the scoresheet! on 05/16/09 at 09:33 AM ET
“They play us belligerent” , Red Wings Fans.
So belligerence starts from the top down I guess.
Posted by RWBill from the Land of 12 in 12. on 05/16/09 at 10:09 AM ET
I wonder if there is a conspiracy by Bettman to have the GM’s target Red Wing fans when throwing stools?
Posted by Tero from Tacoma on 05/16/09 at 10:55 AM ET
Speaking of, I totally buy the story Murray accidentally hit that lady with a barstool.
He was, of course, aiming for the back of Ken Holland’s head. That’s what Ken gets for ‘admiring his team’.
Keep your head up, Kenny! It’s just rough General Management. Nothing dirty.
It happened in the regular flow of the game.
Posted by HockeyinHD on 05/16/09 at 11:16 AM ET
I wonder if there is a conspiracy by Bettman to have the GM’s target Red Wing fans when throwing stools?
It’d have to be a conspiracy, because I highly doubt that little munchkin could pick one up on his own.
Posted by HockeyinHD on 05/16/09 at 11:17 AM ET
There would have been a lot of other people in that room who would have seen what happened. Has anyone spoken to any of them?
Posted by Jennemy of the Skate from the back of the Hasek car drinking heavily on 05/16/09 at 10:24 AM ET
I have seen one other account of the incident and it does collaborate her story as far as throwing the stool.
I can’t say if the intent was to hit her specifically. Regardless, he should have never thrown that stool. Period. This guy is a GM for crying out loud.
Now as far as $$$$$ goes, this league gets enough bad press regarding violence. Who’s to say that it hasn’t already been taken care of? Bettman is a lawyer, and has an army of them behind him.
Brings to mind the evil Mr.Burns and his gaggle of lawyers.“Damn their oily hides.”
Lets Go Red Wings!!!!!
Posted by Kate from Pa.-made in Detroit on 05/16/09 at 12:10 PM ET
Sounds like Bob Murray is a new candidate for the Jackatoreum. He belongs there.
Posted by calquake on 05/16/09 at 01:03 PM ET
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Posted by SYF from a "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" on 05/15/09 at 08:19 PM ET