Wayne Gretzky gives a parent's take on Blackhawks' owner refusing to answer questions about Kyle Beach

On Wednesday, Chicago Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz took several questions from media, and several answers he gave infuriated many throughout the hockey community.

Wirtz was asked by reporters what the team would do in the future to make sure another Kyle Beach situation didn't happen. It seems like a very fair question given how sad and disgusting the Beach situation was, but Wirtz appeared very irritated by it, blasting the reporter back. His response to this and several other questions upset many, including hockey icon Wayne Gretzky.

"I'm sitting here thinking, as a parent, you're sitting there going, 'My son is 18 years old and he's going to maybe be drafted by that team'" Gretzky said. "I want to know my 18-year-old son is going to be protected."

Gretzky is 100 per cent bang on with this assessment, and it is absolutely ridiculous that Wirtz didn't expect to get questions regarding the awful situation involving Beach. He did go on to apologize in a written statement, though it wasn't much of a heartfelt one.

«Tonight, at the Chicago Blackhawks town hall, my response to two questions crossed the line. I want to apologize to the fans and those reporters, and I regret that my response overshadowed the great work this organization is doing to move forward. We have the right leaders and right processes in place to create a safe environment for our employees and players.»

Given his poor display earlier, it is unlikely this apology will help at all with the many people he angered today. This was an opportunity for the Blackhawks to gain some fans back and prove that they were going to do things different moving forward, and Wirtz completely botched that.

Liam McHugh, Anson Carter, & Rick Tocchet all made great points leading into Gretzky's comments about Rocky Wirtz.

"It's stunning. It's beyond disappointing." - McHugh
"I wish Danny [Wirtz] would have jumped in" - Carter
"You can't hide it." - Tocchet pic.twitter.com/ClbdghcLde— Ryan Gilbert (@RGilbertSOP) February 3, 2022

📽 Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz goes off on reporter for asking question about Kyle Beach #Blackhawks #HockeyTwitter https://t.co/9K3fkybkkT— NHL Chirps (@nhlchirpz) February 3, 2022

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