THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 2, 1995 TAG: 9504020135
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 108 lines
John Brophy is a man with many faults.
The Hampton Roads Admirals' coach is a poor loser and is prone to verbally abuse others. He has an uncontrollable temper and is the most profane man I've ever met.
But in the six months I have covered the Admirals, through hundreds of interviews and private conversations, I never heard him utter a word that could be construed as racist.
He has recruited and coached three black players in six years with the Admirals. One of those players, Shawn Wheeler, was a player/assistant coach.
``We've had more black players here than any other team in the league,'' Brophy said. ``I recruited them and I wanted them and I'll do it again.''
Yet this man now is being branded a racist.
Tallahassee Tiger Sharks defenseman Robert Haddock, who is black, claims that Brophy said, ``Buckwheat, we'll get you tomorrow,'' following a playoff game Tuesday in Florida.
In spite of Brophy's propensity to put both feet in his mouth, this is one allegation that just doesn't ring true, in part because it doesn't make sense.
Brophy has been a coach for 21 years.
``You think I could last 21 years, including three in the National Hockey League, if I said things like that?'' he said. ``Even if I wanted to say something like that, which I don't, would I be crazy enough to say it in 1995?''
Brophy's reaction when first approached about the allegation Wednesday was that of an innocent man - he was shocked, then angry. His denials appeared sincere.
Tallahassee coach Terry Christensen's reaction was that of a man who wasn't sure whom to believe.
``If that statement was made, I think it was deplorable,'' Christensen said.
Haddock, meanwhile, was reluctant to discuss the allegation with reporters. When finally coaxed to talk about it, his demeanor was less than compelling.
``I think it would be in everyone's best interest if this were just dropped,'' he said.
Good idea, but it's too late for that, Robert. The allegation hit the wire services and was reprinted in other newspapers, and no matter how much Brophy professes innocence, many will think him guilty.
Predictably, Brophy exploded in a 10-minute rage after being informed of the allegation. Unfortunately, he verbally abused Mike Fitzhenry, a reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat, who had the misfortune of being assigned to interview Brophy.
``Tim Mouser is a lying ---- ------,'' he said of the Tiger Sharks' general manager, who first revealed the alleged racial slur to the media. ``---- you and Tim Mouser.''
Brophy should apologize to Fitzhenry, who acted professionally and wrote a balanced story about the allegation. But that Brophy treated a newspaper reporter so harshly reveals the depth of his hurt and anger.
He routinely screams at players. He'll even exchange blows with a fan or an opposing player. But not reporters, whom he knows can make or break a coach.
The Tiger Sharks apparently are trying to break Brophy. They say they are seeking ECHL sanctions against him. He was ordered Friday by commissioner Pat Kelly to put his recollection of what happened in writing.
Maybe Kelly should take a good, hard look at the deplorable behavior of Mouser.
Mouser acknowledges he was standing behind the Admirals' bench, pushing on the glass and cursing at the coaches and players, in the final minutes of Wednesday's game in Tallahassee, a 2-0 loss that ended the Admirals' season.
He pointed to a ring on his finger, from one of his two championship seasons as general manager in Toledo, and said: ``This is as close as you'll get to a championship. Warm up the bus.''
After the game, he engaged in a caustic cursing match with Admirals trainer Rick Burrill and again pointed to his ring.
Earlier in the day he passed on word about the alleged racial slur to the news media. Disc jockeys all over the Florida capital were abuzz about Brophy.
The Tallahassee fans, in part incensed by the media, pelted Brophy and the Admirals with debris between periods. A tobacco tin full of spit missed Brophy by inches and splattered on the ice, leaving a gash that might have been left on Brophy's head.
Dimes, nickels and pennies were scattered on the ice.
I was standing in the walkway where the Admirals entered the dressing room and was hit with a dozen objects - and that was 10 feet away from the ice.
``He was instigating their fans,'' Admirals assistant coach Al MacIsaac said of Mouser. ``He was behind our bench stirring them up.''
Curiously, several Hampton Roads players acknowledged privately that they and Haddock used racist terms when exchanging insults during the game.
They said they uttered words harsher than ``Buckwheat'' to Haddock, who in turn made derogatory statements about their Irish and/or Scottish heritage.
At game's end, those players shook hands with Haddock.
``It shouldn't be part of the game, but it is,'' said one Admiral, who asked not to be identified. ``You get caught up in the emotion of the game, but when it's over, it's over. You forget and move on.''
So why pick on Brophy? Perhaps because his reputation as a hothead makes him an easy target.
Kelly should tell Mouser to put his complaint in writing. He then should wad it up and throw it in the garbage.
For that's what it is.
Garbage. ILLUSTRATION: FILE PHOTO
Admirals coach John Brophy has a well-deserved reputation as a
hothead, as is illustrated in this 1992 flare-up at Scope with Erie
coach Ron Hansis. He routinely screams at players. He'll even
exchange blows with a fan or an opposing player. But is he a racist,
as a Tallahassee player has charged? No way.
by CNB