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Buffalo Sabres’ Ryan O’Reilly Issues Meaningless Apology

By Melissa Kania

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Ryan O’Reilly, before he ever even appeared publicly in a Buffalo Sabres uniform, made a bad impression on his new team. Less than a week after signing a massive contract with the Sabres, O’Reilly was arrested and charged with driving a motor vehicle while ability impaired and leaving the scene of an accident.

Now, just a day before he was due in court, O’Reilly issued what essentially amounts to a meaningless apology.

After a long period of silence, Ryan O’Reilly spoke out this week, issuing an apology of sorts in this piece from The Buffalo News‘ John Vogl:

"After this week it’ll be sorted out and I can comment more on it, but it’s an unfortunate situation. I think with the way the Sabres have invested in me and seen light in me, to be involved in a situation like that it’s definitely unfortunate. I would never want to do that, so I definitely apologize to all the fans and just the kids that see the situation. I’m not going to say exactly what has happened. That’s going to come out in court. I’ll just be happy when it’s taken care of and I can just move on and start playing hockey. It’s obviously something I’ve had to deal with all summer, and I feel horrible about it. It can be a little difficult at times, but everyone here has been nice about it and supported me and is hoping for the best. To have that, it makes it much easier. I just focus on being here and let that thing take care of itself. I’m not saying the outcome is set yet, but just to be in a situation like that and have it come out the way it’s been spun, it is unfortunate. I know families and parents and kids, it’s not a good message to send to them. Again, I do apologize and I will do what I can to make that up to them. I think that’s something I’ll be happy to put behind me."

As nice as that all sounds, in the end, it’s an empty, meaningless apology.

Backstory of the incident at hand, initially reported by a radio station in London, via Ontario Provincial Police as the following:

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Around 4:05 a.m., O’Reilly’s truck hit a Tim Hortons in Lucan, Ontario. He then continued to drive the vehicle, a 1951 Chevy pickup, before ditching it and leaving on foot with another male passenger. The pair were found less than a mile away, and O’Reilly was charged and given an appearance ticket.

He was scheduled to appear in court on August 20th, but that date got pushed back to September 10th. It’s now been pushed back AGAIN, this time to October 1st.

At the time of incident, O’Reilly’s blood alcohol level was over 80 mg, the equivalent of .08 in the United States. That left him subject to an immediate 90-day suspension of his license, as well as facing penalties for leaving the scene. Potential outcomes: up to six months in jail, fines ranging from $400 to $2,000, two years of a suspended license and seven points on his license – that’s just for leaving the scene. The additional charges for his blood alcohol level include additional fines and license bans if convicted.

At the time, Buffalo Sabres GM Tim Murray said the team was “aware of the reports regarding the incident” and that they were “in the process of gathering more information.” O’Reilly’s agent had no comment, and shortly after the incident, O’Reilly deactivated his Twitter account. He was silent – until this week.

O’Reilly says that it’s “an unfortunate situation,” essentially boiling down a serious issue – driving after drinking – to just “something that happened.” An unfortunate situation is when your car breaks down in the middle of your drive home in the midst of a blizzard, or when your umbrella suddenly snaps while you’re walking to work in the pouring rain. This, however, was a completely avoidable incident that thankfully didn’t result in any injuries.

He apologizes to the fans and the kids that see the situation, but the fact is, any NHLer involved in anything like this is NOT thinking about their role in the community. At the time of the incident, O’Reilly wasn’t thinking about the fans who endlessly support him, or the kids who might look at this and say “Wow, he got in the car and drove after he had some drinks, and he walked away just fine!” While it’s great to think about all of that after the fact, it’s just that – it’s after the fact, and it’s too late.

He also expresses that it’s “unfortunate” that the information has “come out the way it’s been spun,” but in reality, there is no positive way *to* spin this. It was downright irresponsible of O’Reilly to a) get in the car when he’d been drinking and b) leave the scene of an accident. If this was a non-celebrity who did something like that, all the apologies in the world wouldn’t change the fact that it was a stupid thing to do. He’s lucky that no one got hurt, or he certainly wouldn’t be putting it “behind him” anytime soon – and depending on what happens in court, he won’t be.

While I can appreciate an apology as much as the next person, this one does nothing for me. Naturally, he has to apologize publicly – any decent person, and certainly anyone with any sort of clout, would. But it can’t undo what he did.

Want to change the impression you’ve given people, and teach kids and families that what you did is wrong? Speak out against it. Join up with a local organization and visit schools to talk about the dangers of driving after you’ve had something to drink. Stress how fortunate you are that no one got hurt (or worse), yourself included, and how if there was a next time, you might not be so lucky.

Teach people that each day in the United States, almost 30 people die in motor vehicle crashes involving an alcohol-impaired driver, amounting to one death every 51 minutes.

It’s not just “unfortunate” – it’s a serious issue, and though O’Reilly can talk about putting it behind him, there’s plenty of people across the world who will never be able to do that – whether they were the one drinking and driving or not, whether they got hurt or not, whether they’re a person who drove drunk and is behind bars or a mother who lost a child, a son who lost a father, a loved one who lost their significant other, etc. due to someone ELSE who was drinking and driving. I doubt those people would simplify that as just “an unfortunate situation.”

I’m sure he’s thought about that (or at least I hope); I hope he’s aware, really aware, of the severity of the incident, and how much worse it could’ve been; but the fact is that until he does more, this apology just isn’t enough.

Next: Sabres Sign O'Reilly to Extension

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