Opinion: As defenseman Tony DeAngelo aligns with Trump, Parler, N.Y. Rangers put in tough spot
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I spent Friday night staying off Twitter. (Aside from a couple quick pics of my delicious homemade pizza.) It was my first day off after seven straight days of working and I wanted to make it a nice, relaxing night with my fianceÌe.
When I logged on Saturday morning, I was met with several notifications about New York Rangers defenseman Tony DeAngelo.
It wasnât the first time I awoke to screenshots of posts from the Rangers' most active social media user.
In his latest stunt, the 25-year-old New Jersey native deactivated his Twitter account â which, had he done quietly, I wouldnât be writing about it.
But by indicating that it was an apparent protest of the companyâs decision to ban Donald Trump, then following it up with a puzzling Instagram post â in which he wrote, âIf they let Parler back up at some point I will be on Parler. Until then I will not be using social media appsâ â it called extra attention to him and brought on a slew of questions.
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DeAngelo has been a vocal Trump supporter, so him being upset by Twitterâs decision to boot the outgoing president was no surprise. For me, most of the questions centered around DeAngeloâs decision to align himself with Parler.
I hadnât heard of Parler, a social network, until a couple days ago, but itâs been in the news since Wednesdayâs shocking invasion of the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob. Some planning for the appalling attack apparently took place on Parler, with Google subsequently removing the app while calling it a âpublic safety threatâ and noting that there has been âcontinued posting in the Parler app that seeks to incite ongoing violence in the US.â A day after Parler was removed from the Google Play Store, Apple suspended the social network from its store..
Why would DeAngelo want to publicly associate himself with Parler? Thatâs a great question.
Anyone who thinks reporters wouldnât want to ask it, for whatever reasons, are way off â but as many of you know, due to COVID-19 protocols, media is not allowed in NHL locker rooms at the moment.
So, I reached out to DeAngelo via text and asked.
âFreedom of speech,â he replied. âEveryone is entitled to any opinion they have. I didnât like what happened at the Capitol, that has nothing to do with me moving to Parler.â
âIâm focused on hockey now and thatâs really it,â he concluded. âI wonât comment on anything more politically. I have my opinions, others have theirs.â
As a reporter, you appreciate candor from any player. With DeAngelo, you always know he's going to give you a straight answer.
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Prior to the pandemic, as I began to observe his outspokenness on social media, I approached him to ask what he saw as the benefit in antagonizing fans and debating politics. We spoke for about 10 minutes that November afternoon in 2019, as he explained that he enjoys reading opinions on social media and likes to give his own.
At the time, he said he was scaling back on the politics. That, clearly, didnât last.
In the polarizing year since the coronavirus hit, DeAngeloâs social media presence has increasingly moved from opinionated to controversial â and, in the process, turned some fans against him.
It goes without saying that Iâm all for freedom of speech. But challenging a fan to fight, sarcastically questioning "what happened to COVID-19?" after the election, and supporting a social platform thatâs been linked to fueling an insurrection attempt â that resulted in five deaths â is simply irresponsible.
By hitting "send" on those kinds of provocative sentiments, DeAngelo should know itâs going to elicit a reaction. Perhaps thatâs what heâs looking for, but you could argue itâs having a negative impact on the organizationâs image, at which point his employer has the right to take issue.
When Iâve asked about DeAngeloâs questionable social media behavior in the past, the Rangers have been clear that theyâre not going to comment publicly. Their response is that matters like this are handled internally, which coach David Quinn echoed following Saturday's practice at the MSG Training Center in Tarrytown.
Frankly, heâs put the Rangers in a tough spot. Theyâve experienced multiple days of damage control stemming from ill-advised tweets.
Thereâs no way theyâre happy about his latest antics and the backlash that's ensued. And, clearly, theyâve had trouble getting him to âtoneâ it down. (Get it?)
Itâs become a distraction, to some degree, but Iâm honestly not sure how much of an effect it has in the locker room. From what I observed prior to the pandemic, DeAngelo is an upbeat personality whoâs generally well-liked by his teammates.
But at what point do they get fed up with the attention-seeking? And at what point does the Rangersâ frustration boil over?
Itâs an unnecessarily messy situation â one which the uniquely talented defenseman could have avoided, yet continues to complicate.
Come to think of it, maybe the best thing is if he actually does stay off social media.
Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.