OHL fines Barrie Colts $15K for ‘unprofessional’ post-game press conference

The Barrie Colts have been fined $15,000 by the Ontario Hockey League for ‘conduct detrimental to the league’s public perception’ after a terse post-game press conference following the team’s conference final victory over Brantford went viral.

The OHL announced the fine Wednesday, hours before the opening faceoff of Game 1 of the league final in Kitchener.

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After the Colts beat the Bulldogs 5-0 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final Monday in Brantford, Barrie head coach Dylan Smoskowitz and team captain Kashawn Aitcheson answered every question at the post-game availability with the motto “no one cares, work harder.”

The OHL said in a release that the conduct was unprofessional and disrespected the media members in attendance.

Smoskowitz apologized for the incident Tuesday on TSN’s “OverDrive” program.

He said he chose to address the media that way — and instructed Aitcheson to do so as well — after learning the whole team would not be able to take part in the press conference.