Entire Hockey Team Quits After Owner Fires Coaching Staff for Not Playing His Son

Entire Hockey Team Quits After Owner Fires Coaching Staff for Not Playing His Son

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Complex Original

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An entire youth hockey team in Flint, Mich. quit after the coaching staff was fired for not giving more playing time to the owner's son.

Frank Seravalli of TSN has the details:

One by one, all 24 players of the OHL’s Flint Firebirds placed their sweaters on the floor in the front office and quit the team on Sunday night, shortly after owner Rolf Nilsen fired the coaching staff.

The Ontario Hockey League is for players ages 16 to 20. The Firebirds are currently in ninth place in a 10-team conference, so it's possible that the team's lackluster performance could have had at least something to do with the coaching staff being dismissed. But the way the players have revolted would lead you to believe that the issues went far beyond wins and losses.

Whatever the reason was, it appears order has been restored. The team seems to have rectified things by bringing back the coaching staff on new three-year deals. As we've seen with other young athletes recently, they have more power to affect change than perhaps they had previously realized.

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