Ice hockey star Leon Draisait had a tense exchange with a reporter who asked him why he was so "pissy" during a press conference, when asked to expand on the reasons behind his team's latest run of defeats.
On Tuesday (January 18) the Edmonton Oilers player was faced with questions from reporter Jim Matheson over how his team lost 12 of its last 14 games - six games in a row twice - which now means the Oilers are no longer challenging for the playoff positions.
It all began when Matheson quizzed Draisait on what his team needed to do in order to improve and get the team back in playoff contention.
Matheson asked: "What do you think is the number one reason for the losses now? Is there one thing in your own mind where you say ‘we’ve got to get better at that?’"
To which Draisaitl replied: "We have to get better at everything."
"Would you like to expand on that?" Matheson asked.
Apparently, this was a topic Draisaitl didn't want to explain any further and answered curtly: "Nope. You can do that. You know everything."
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Picking up on the ice hockey player's short tone, Matheson then grilled him further - though not on the ice hockey but instead on his mood and questioned: "Why are you so pissy, Leon? Why are you so pissy?"
Draisaitl denied he was being "pissy" and responded: "I’m not, I’m just answering."
Clearly annoyed at Draisaiti's denial, Matheson was not having any of it and probed further: "Yeah you are, whenever I ask you a question."
Watch Leon Draisaitl get into it with HHOF reporter Jim Matheson \n\n#Oilerspic.twitter.com/KsoN8KKqWR— Tim and Friends (@Tim and Friends) 1642534759
Draisaitl shrugged and said: "I gave you an answer."
Matheson then remarked: "Not a very good one" and proceeded with his final question where he asked if it was good that he showed his frustration on the ice in his previous game against Ottawa.
"Yeah it's a great thing, for sure," Draisaiti replied.
Since the press conference, the clip of Matheson and Draisaitl quickly went viral on social media as ice hockey fans shared their thoughts on who was in the wrong on this occasion - with many believing Matheson's "pissy" question was uncalled for.
Though the journalist did have some defenders who blamed Draisaitl's blunt attitude on the tense back-and-forth.
Players are obligated to answer the media\u2019s questions, but they\u2019re not obligated to give good answers, and calling them pissy certainly won\u2019t make them more forthcoming.https://twitter.com/timandfriends/status/1483524422162173958\u00a0\u2026— Brendan Batchelor (@Brendan Batchelor) 1642572662
No because i would need to be held back in this momenthttps://twitter.com/timandfriends/status/1483524422162173958\u00a0\u2026— Colleen (@Colleen) 1642545902
Do they sell this audacity on Amazon because I really could use somehttps://twitter.com/timandfriends/status/1483524422162173958\u00a0\u2026— Sara Civ (@Sara Civ) 1642538925
why do reporters think they can talk to athletes like they are children? lmaohttps://twitter.com/timandfriends/status/1483524422162173958\u00a0\u2026— the bills won (@the bills won) 1642536755
1. This is hilarious\n\n2. I\u2019m not really sure Matheson is even in the wrong here because Draisaitl said \u201cyou know everything\u201d first and kinda escalated the whole thing\n\n3. I don\u2019t really care about #2 because see #1https://twitter.com/timandfriends/status/1483524422162173958\u00a0\u2026— Bell Biv Deveaux (@Bell Biv Deveaux) 1642536190
If someone called me pissy, I would probably react the same way https://twitter.com/timandfriends/status/1483524422162173958\u00a0\u2026— Christy LaBOOMba (@Christy LaBOOMba) 1642544220
\u201cWhy are you so pissy?\u201d asked the pissy reporterhttps://twitter.com/timandfriends/status/1483524422162173958\u00a0\u2026— Ryan Stieg (@Ryan Stieg) 1642540335
Gotta love the way Jim\u2019s holding the players ACCOUNTABLEhttps://twitter.com/timandfriends/status/1483524422162173958\u00a0\u2026— EvolvingWild (@EvolvingWild) 1642536194
team jim honestly lmao players are always snippy what\u2019s the big deal if a reporter dishes it back once in a while. None of this matters anyway it\u2019s all entertainment. Team Mattyhttps://twitter.com/timandfriends/status/1483524422162173958\u00a0\u2026— \ud83d\ude3c (@\ud83d\ude3c) 1642537310
jim matheson, an empath, sensing leon draisaitl is being pissy— 757th tweeter (@757th tweeter) 1642539916
Why is everyone getting so upset? Jim Matheson is a Hockey Hall of Fame level reporter! With all those years of experience, he knows EXACTLY when to call a player out on their bad attitude.pic.twitter.com/dZDw84l7w2— Ryan Robinson (@Ryan Robinson) 1642542578
But what everyone can agree on is that this was a pretty entertaining interaction.
I love the spiciness of this exchange. So much personal animosity bubbling overpic.twitter.com/FjDtOQODYL— Nooruddean (@Nooruddean) 1642619891
What an interactionhttps://twitter.com/timandfriends/status/1483524422162173958\u00a0\u2026— Oh Nyquist (@Oh Nyquist) 1642536455
An all-time exchange. Love it.https://twitter.com/timandfriends/status/1483524422162173958\u00a0\u2026— Sam Aitken (@Sam Aitken) 1642536599
everything about this is hilarious.https://twitter.com/timandfriends/status/1483524422162173958\u00a0\u2026— maha (@maha) 1642535733