Fanning the embers of 'horrible' gossip
On U.S. radio, Pronger revives rumour that irate Oilers fans burned his furniture
  
David Staples
The Edmonton Journal
Saturday, January 19, 2008



CREDIT:  
Chris Pronger

EDMONTON - It's "horrible" for hockey superstar Chris Pronger to spread the rumour that someone in Edmonton burned his furniture, including his child's crib, after he was traded from the Oilers in July 2006, says Allan Watt, Edmonton Oilers vice-president of communications.

"He offers no proof," Watt said.

"God Almighty, is Chris sitting beside McCarthy?" he asked -- a reference to Joseph McCarthy, the U.S. senator from the 1950s known for unfair accusations.

The Oilers have had the team's security people, who are trained police officers, check out the allegation.

"There is no proof that anybody can find of any crib being burned," Watt said.

Pronger's allegation came Wednesday on the radio show of popular American sportscaster Jim Rome. He was asked if his Edmonton experience left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Yeah, there's obviously a few things that didn't sit well with me -- for instance, taking the furniture that I had in my house and burning it, and having a 'Burn Chris Pronger's Furniture Day,' that really didn't sit well with me very much," Pronger said.

"They burned my kid's crib and things like that. When you hear stories like that, it doesn't sit well."

Rome failed to challenge Pronger on the allegation, Watt said.

Pronger couldn't be reached for comment, but his agent Pat Morris said that in the summer of 2006, they read about an Edmonton radio station buying the furniture, then having people pay to come out to a bonfire and burn it, with the proceeds going to charity.

"If that stuff happened, that's ridiculous," Morris said of the alleged bonfire.

"If it didn't happen, the rumours and innuendo, that's what got back to Chris."

Pronger rented much of his furniture from Insta-Rent in Edmonton. All of it was returned in immaculate condition, including the crib, said Ken King, who was then vice-president of the Edmonton company.

The Prongers rented furniture for "his whole house," including a crib, paying on a month-to-month basis, King said.

King has nothing but good things to say

about his dealings with Chris and Lauren Pronger. "The guy was a complete gentleman, he was awesome. She was super, very friendly."

Bryn Griffiths, morning man on the Team 1260's morning sports radio show, said the Pronger story has dominated talk on the station for the past few days, but no one has been able to confirm Pronger's allegation.

The most likely scenario is that an Edmonton radio station heard about Pronger's rental furniture being returned, then joked on air about buying the furniture and burning it, Griffiths said.

Watt wishes the story would go away. "I don't know what to say. I'm so frustrated by it."

The story was first reported as an unattributed item on July 11, 2006 by St. Louis ESPN radio commentator Andy Strickland on his blog at hockeybuzz.com.

"A radio station in Edmonton recently purchased the furniture Chris Pronger had rented from the company that rented Pronger the furniture," Strickland wrote.

"The radio station then set the furniture on fire while Oilers fans looked on and cheered. I guess that's the respect you get when you take the team to the seventh game of the Stanley Cup Finals."

In September 2006, Pronger told The Journal's Jim Matheson that fans were so irate, "Some people even took my rental furniture from my house and burned it."

The story is now mutating. After interviewing Pronger, Rome went on air and embellished the story, saying that disgruntled fans had broken into Pronger's house to burn the furniture.

American sportswriter Greg Wyshynski of http://www.Fanhouse.com said the story is adding to Pronger's reputation for controversy.

"From suspensions in the post-season to the lingering animosity of his former fans to his status as one of the league's top defencemen, Pronger certainly remains polarizing."

Morris said Oilers fans should put Pronger's departure behind them, as well as all the rumours surrounding the matter.

"I talked to (Oilers general manager) Kevin Lowe today, and I wouldn't have a problem with a client of mine going to Edmonton at all, and neither would they. But if the media and the people of Edmonton continue to perpetuate this, it will become a problem because it's ridiculous.

"Let's just close the chapter on this and move on before there's no players wanting to come there."

dstaples@thejournal.canwest.com

© The Edmonton Journal 2008

THERE IS A CLASSY WAY OUT OF MESSY PRONGER FEUD
* ITEM: A FINAL WORD ON THE "BURNING CRIB" ALLEGATION

No doubt, it is rich for both Chris Pronger and his agent Pat Morris to complain that all they want is for the feud between Pronger and Oilers fans to end when Pronger himself is repeating a nasty and unsubstantiated rumour about Edmontonians to several million Americans on Jim Rome's radio show.

But, in Edmonton, we should be careful to get to self-righteous in any critique of Pronger or Morris.

On the Hockey's Future discussion groups, a writer nicknamed Beeksa writes that it was ironic for Edmontonians to complain about Pronger spreading a rumour, when  malicious rumours had been spread by so many Edmontonians about Pronger. "After a year plus of Edmontonians making up and promoting rumours bordering on libel and almost always crossing the boundary of what was appropriate, they are in an uproar because he unintentionally did the same thing."

Now, I don't think what Pronger did was unintentional. He knew that going on Rome and saying what he did would poke a sharp stick into the eyes of all those Oilers fans who had blasted him and spread stories about him.

I also think that Pronger likely believes the crib burning story is true, though he has yet to provide any evidence, and the evidence so far is that this story is a total and preposterous fabrication. Still, I suspect Pronger believes it, and he went on Rome's show to get a bit more revenge for the kicking he has taken in Edmonton.

He would be wise to abandon that tactic if he truly does want this feud to end.

Of course, Pronger also would have been wise in June 2006 to say: "We had a great run to the Cup and I love this city, but it's simply not working out for my wife and kids here. She is an American and, as much as I like it here, the place is alien to her. Family comes first for me, something I'm sure you will all understand, so I'm requesting a trade."

Pronger has got to realize -- as anyone in public life must realize -- that in the absence of good information, bad information flourishes, and that's a big part of how all the Pronger rumour-mongering got out of control.

So if that's the real story -- and numerous insiders, including Oilers owner Cal Nichols in an on the record comment, have said Pronger wanted out because his wife didn't want to live in Edmonton -- it's not too late for Pronger to give some version of that truth.

Great hockey players, such as Steve Yzerman, Wayne Gretzky and Jean Beliveau, are often described as "classy" for their play both on and off the ice. To clear the air now would be a step in that direction for Chris Pronger.


David Staples - Edm Journal blog

I, too, heard Rome's interview with Pronger. And I was surprised how easily he bought Pronger's version of his exit from Edmonton and played on it once the interview was over.  I guess it was a good way to get listener response.

"Great hockey players, such as Steve Yzerman, Wayne Gretzky and Jean Beliveau, are often described as "classy" for their play both on and off the ice. To clear the air now would be a step in that direction for Chris Pronger."

Hmmm.. "Classy" is hardly a word one associates with Pronger's on-ice activities, effective though they are. I can't imagine what he'd have to do off the ice to start edging into the same league as Beliveau et al.  

Quoted from cdl

And I was surprised how easily (Rome) bought Pronger's version of his exit from Edmonton and played on it once the interview was over.  I guess it was a good way to get listener response.

I listen to Rome most mornings and he's good, but let's face it, he doesn't exactly challenge his guests, especially if, as in Pronger's case, 'Van Smack' has already established a pal thing.