New Columbus Blue Jackets coach Mike Babcock said Tuesday he had done nothing wrong in asking players to show him photos off their phones, clarifying he was trying to get to know them after a report emerged criticizing him for invasion of privacy.
Babcock and Jenner in a joint statement released by the Blue Jackets called it “a gross misrepresentation of those meetings and extremely offensive.” Jenner said the meeting was a good start to his relationship with Babcock and expressed disappointment.
“While meeting with our players and staff I asked them to share, off their phones, family pictures as part of the process of getting to know them better,” Babcock said. “These meetings have been very important and beneficial, not only for me but for our players and staff, as well. And to have them depicted like this is irresponsible and completely inaccurate.”
Mike Babcock has allegedly been asking various Blue Jackets to see their phones then AirPlaying their photos on his office TV.<br><br>📺: <a href=”https://t.co/sFJxtm8Pp2″>https://t.co/sFJxtm8Pp2</a> <a href=”https://t.co/zsiql2uJ5x”>pic.twitter.com/zsiql2uJ5x</a>
—@spittinchiclets
Jenner said Babcock asked him about his family, where he’s from and his upcoming wedding, along with hockey-related conversation.
“He then asked if I had pictures of my family, and I was happy to share some with him,” Jenner said. “He showed me pictures of his family.”
Bissonnette responded to the statements with a profane social media post that told Babcock to knock it off.
“Enough with putting guys on the spot in the coaches room asking them to link their phones up to airplay mode and grilling them,” Bissonnette said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “I’ve had tons of players confirm it.”
Columbus Blue Jackets Head Coach Mike Babcock and center Boone Jenner have released the following statement:<br><br>📝 <a href=”https://t.co/ytvGVXzF2w”>https://t.co/ytvGVXzF2w</a> <a href=”https://t.co/htlgl1UgAR”>pic.twitter.com/htlgl1UgAR</a>
—@BlueJacketsNHL
Deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league and NHL Players’ Association looked into the situation and found nothing to be wrong.
Babcock is back in the league after a nearly four-year absence. When the 2008 Stanley Cup-winning coach was fired by Toronto in 2019, reports emerged of some polarizing old-school coaching techniques, including asking Maple Leafs player Mitch Marner to list teammates from hardest- to least-hardest working.
Upon taking the job in Columbus in July, Babcock said he has evolved as a coach and learned how better to deal with players.
“Change in all of us takes time,” Babcock said over the summer. “I think what this has done is given me a chance to get outside my body and have a look and see what I’m doing and understand you needed to change, you needed to grow.”