If Tony DeAngelo thought baring his soul in an interview to the New York Post would garner more support for him among fans, it appears that he is very wrong. The article, in which DeAngelo states he is deeply sorry for his actions that led to the New York Rangers sending him home while they try to work out a trade while swearing it will never happen again, is being bashed on social media. Not just DeAngelo for his words in it, but Larry Brooks of the Post for writing it.

The story by Brooks attempts to paint DeAngelo as someone who was kicked off the Rangers due to racism, his support for Donald Trump and, apparently, support for the actions of those who stormed the Capitol building in Washington on January 6th. Rangers' management, including GM Jeff Gorton and President John Davidson, have stated on several occasions that it was never DeAngelo's social media presence or his political leanings that led to his downfall with the team, but rather his interactions with teammates and his hotheadedness.

"Fights, verbal outbursts, those can be overcome. But you know what cannot be overcome? The perception that a player is racist. The perception that a player — the same player — is a political extremist, an insurrectionist and a COVID-denier carries dreadful enough tones, but there is nothing uglier in life than to be labeled racist." - Larry Brooks

There's no denying there are people that likely think DeAngelo is a racist. Did that get him booted from the Rangers? Of course not. Also, there are things in life uglier than being labelled a racist. How about being the victim of racism? Being the victim of a hate crime? You could literally fill pages with things that are worse.

"Do your arms hurt from carrying all this water?," said one response to Brooks' Tweet of the article.

"I think Torts was on to something when it came to how he felt about you," said another, referring to when John Tortorella was coach of the New York Rangers and became combative with Brooks during a scrum.

Another called the article a puff piece, with yet another calling it disgusting.

Personally, I have no issue with DeAngelo getting to tell his side of the story, and seemingly being apologetic for the way things ended in New York. However, this piece did indeed attempt to make DeAngelo the victim, even though he stated that not what he wants. There is a reason DeAngelo slipped to 19th overall in the 2014 draft despite having a ton of talent. Steve Yzerman, who was the GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning when the team selected DeAngelo, acknowledged his reservations about drafting him but said the team would work with him to get him to the maturity level needed to play in the NHL. He was frequently a healthy scratch for the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL due to behavioural issues before the Bolts decided to ship him to Arizona for a second round pick. Just a few months into that very first season with the Coyotes, DeAngelo was suspended for three games for abuse of officials. At the end of that season, he was traded to the Rangers.

Gorton told reporters DeAngelo could not get past being a healthy scratch for the second and third game of this season after taking a bad penalty in the season opener. He was told one more incident would lead to his dismissal. Then came the dust-up with teammate Alexander Georgiev following an overtime loss to Pittsburgh. DeAngelo reportedly make a smarmy remark to Georgiev while the two were headed back to the locker room and Georgiev decided to let him have it.

"Hockey-wise, there are mistakes that I have made. I've gotten hot-headed at times. I'm the first one to admit that and I take responsibility for it. I've tried to learn and get better and better at it, but there are still times where things have happened and emotionally I've gone over the line a little bit, and I accept responsibility for that," DeAngelo told Brooks. "The thing with Alex, exactly like he said, emotions got away."

If DeAngelo really believes that and is really trying to be better, great! However, no one can be blamed at this point for taking that statement with a huge grain of salt. At 25 years of age, DeAngelo has had plenty of time to adjust his attitude. There's a reason he' sitting at home despite his offensive talent while the Rangers attempt to work out a trade. It's very doubtful any team in the NHL wants to bring DeAngelo into their locker room.

This is disgraceful— Ara (@Arabwel) February 13, 2021

Aaaaand no one believes him or cares— Will the Butcher (@DevilsButcher) February 13, 2021

Embarrassing— tommy donofrio (@tommyboro) February 13, 2021

«the perception that a player is a COVID-denier» sure jan pic.twitter.com/cvDdbv1qWY— 🐝 (@zooomboni) February 13, 2021

Hopefully he gets the 6th chance he deserves— Michael Bahari (@Michael_Bahari) February 13, 2021