because they’ve spent their entire lives with hockey teams on buses between Kamloops and Great Falls and Albany and Goose Bay. A lot of athletes grow up sheltered, but hockey players particularly so. There’s plenty of evidence of that.

I also don’t believe that the vast majority of people would’ve acted much differently if they were 27 and had just won the biggest thing in their lives to that point. I think you probably view everything through a political lens more than probably 99.99% of the population does, but especially compared to young professional athletes, let alone 20 minutes after winning a gold medal. If they’re out on the street doing ride-alongs like John Rocker in the offseason, that’s one thing. Right now? Nah.