After tangling with a Toronto reporter online, then apologizing for his remarks, former Langley Rivermen head coach and general manager Bobby Henderson has shut down his Twitter account, while the team has moved to distance itself from Henderson’s comments.
Henderson, apparently unhappy with the way Colin D’Mello has been covering the pandemic, sent a direct message on Friday, May 7, that called D’Mello “a lying piece of ____” and went to say the reporter “won’t be able to walk [the] streets in the distant future.”
After D’Mello made the message public, calling it a threat, Henderson sent another message denying he meant any harm.
“Colin that wan’t a threat from me, that is reality, that you and your company, are gaslighting the population,” Henderson said.
D’Mello published that online, too.
Then, Henderson posted an public apology for making what he called “disparaging” remarks and closed his Twitter account down.
In his apology, Henderson said “I like many Canadians are feeling the stress and effects of COVID and wrote something that was obviously not in good taste. I do not wish him or any journalist any harm.”
Langley Rivermen issued a statement on their Twitter account, condemning the comments and advising Henderson was no longer with the team.
“The Rivermen in no way support negative comments to journalists or any other person for that matter,” it read.
“Although it had not been made public yet, the Rivermen and Mr. Henderson parted ways in March and he is no longer a member of the organization. That being said, team ownership has spoke directly to to Mr. D’Mello to apologize for the situation. We will have no further comment on the matter.”
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In 2011, the Henderson family, Bobby, his younger brother Taylor and father Roy took over the Rivermen.
Bobby, a former captain of the Chilliwack Chiefs who went on to play at the NCAA level, started out as an assistant coach and one of the main recruiters.
After Henderson took over the helm, Langley made the playoffs in eight straight seasons.
He was named BCHL coach of the year following the 2013-14 season.
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In January of 2019, Henderson recorded his 200th career win with the Rivermen.
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In March, the team announced it would not be taking part in the BCHL ‘pod’ season, where three to four teams would play each other in five different locations across the province.
Henderson did not respond to a Langley Advance Times request for comment.
Is there more to the story? Email: dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
