A coach asks his athletes to show him their personal photos saved on their phone. “It’s to get to know the players better,” he argues. This may seem trivial to you. Attentive, even. This gesture, however, forced Mike Babcock to leave his position as head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Generational conflict? Excess of wokism? Hypersensitivity of players?
No, no and no.
Mike Babcock’s request was inappropriate. Uncomfortable. Unacceptable. Especially coming from a man who has had a reputation as a bully and toxic coach for 10 years. Remember the statements of Johan Franzén and Mike Commodore, who found themselves in bad graces with the Detroit Red Wings.
“ [Babcock] is a terrible person,” Franzén told the newspaper Expressen few years ago. “The worst person I have ever met. He’s a bully who attacks people. He could go after the janitor in Detroit as much as anyone else. He was falling on people for no reason. »
Commodore went even further. He called his former coach a “narcissistic sociopath.”
“Is the National League really a place for everyone, or is it a place where a 60 year old narcissistic sociopathic pervert can bully, embarrass and attack teenagers who are under his authority? “, he wrote on the social network X.
I am neither a psychiatrist nor a psychologist. I never found myself under Mike Babcock either. So I can’t confirm that he suffers from narcissistic personality disorder like Mike Commodore did. On the other hand, if I were a head coach who wanted to shed his reputation as a narcissistic intimidator, I would make sure not to take any action that might suggest that I am one…
Mike Babcock did the exact opposite.
Narcissists seek attention. Admiration. The feeling of being powerful, brilliant, unique. To achieve this, they employ several strategies. The lie. Beautification. Exploitation of other people’s sensitive areas. Think of the series’ unsympathetic patriarch SuccessionLogan Roy, who manipulates and humiliates his children to achieve his goals.
“A person with a narcissistic disorder will glean information about the other to be able to use the other as they wish, when they need it,” explains D.r Hubert Van Gijseghem, psychologist who I asked to explain to me the traits of a narcissist, without regard to the specific case of Mike Babcock.
“For the narcissist, others are just tools to be thrown away after use. To use a person properly, he must obviously know that person. He must establish connections that will make the other vulnerable [par rapport à lui]. »
Now, step into the shoes of a Columbus Blue Jackets player. You learned earlier this summer that Mike Babcock will be your new head coach. Your first instinct? You will read about it. “Narcissistic sociopath. » Red flag. You call guys who played for him. Other red flags. Then from your first contacts, he asks you to share very intimate information with him.
Maybe you would have contacted your agent. Or your union representative. Or the podcast guys Spittin’ Chicletsformer National League players who first released the information.
Some of our players weren’t comfortable with his methods, and that was worrying.
Jarmo Kekäläinen, general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets
You could also have refused Mike Babcock’s request. However, this is easier said than done. Even captain Boone Jenner and star winger Johnny Gaudreau, who have nothing to fear for their position, complied. They even went so far as to publicly defend their coach’s actions. According to what has leaked into the media since Sunday, it is the young players of the team who have experienced the greatest discomfort. Nothing suprising. They are the most vulnerable players at the club.
“We are in a power relationship,” explains psychologist Bruno Ouellette, who has supported around thirty Olympic medalists over the last 30 years.
“Even if you are a professional athlete, you remain under the control of your coach. When a new coach comes in and wants to see your photos, it’s a little weird. Really weird, actually. You are in a bad position to refuse. For what ? Because he’s your coach. He is the one who will give you playing time. This can have several impacts, particularly financial. This seems to me to be a form of abuse of power. »
I shared Mike Commodore’s quote on narcissism with Bruno Ouellette. Obviously, the psychologist does not make a diagnosis on Mike Babcock’s case. However, he notes the former Blue Jackets coach’s lack of empathy, a trait common to narcissists.
“If he’s not aware of the problem, as he said, well that’s the problem. At some point you think everything is okay. You don’t put yourself in other people’s shoes. It makes you do funny things. This one was questionable. Other actions taken in the past, too. »
For example, in 2016-2017, Mike Babcock asked 19-year-old Mitchell Marner to rank his teammates based on their work ethic. Babcock then shared the results with players from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Once his approach was made public, he explained it this way: “I was trying to focus on work ethic with Mitch, talking about role models. Ultimately, it wasn’t a good idea. I apologized for that. »
Terrible idea, indeed.
“That doesn’t take away his expertise or his past successes,” explains Bruno Ouellette. Mike Babcock won Olympic gold and the Stanley Cup.
“But ultimately, what happened wasn’t just an error of judgment. He’s on a power trip. He has supreme confidence [en ses capacités]. He places himself above others and behaves as he is. Except that the world has changed. He didn’t adapt. It’s made a dinosaur. »
A dinosaur who sees the asteroid heading towards him.