- Justin Bourne says Mike Babcock got a raw deal over the Columbus cellphone controversy
- Bourne worked under Babcock with the Marlies and explained the photo request
- Read below for his full account and where the Oilers stand
Justin Bourne believes Mike Babcock got a raw deal over the cellphone controversy that ended his time in Columbus.
Bourne, now a Sportsnet radio host, worked as a video coach under Babcock with the Toronto Marlies from 2015 to 2017. He told the Bleed Oil Blue podcast that Babcock asked him for family photos early in their time together, and that he never saw it as sinister.
Watch the Bleed Oil Blue clip of Bourne:
Bourne explained what Babcock used to do before each season, and he got personal about what he showed him.
“One of the things he used to do before the season was give us the opportunity via AirPlay to show him important pictures on our phones. I have a disabled brother. I’d be like, ‘Here’s my brother in a wheelchair, we went here. Here’s our family cabin.’”
Bourne said the point was getting to know people, and that the Columbus reports didn’t match what he saw.
“We’d go through this stuff, and he wanted to get to know people. When I heard he was going through people’s phones or whatever, he didn’t have ill intent in my experience in that sort of thing.”
Babcock resigned as Blue Jackets coach in September 2023 before the season started, after reports emerged that he had asked players to show him photos from their phones. The NHL and NHLPA looked into the allegations.
One person’s experience doesn’t cancel out what players in Columbus said. Bourne’s account is a different view of an incident that has followed Babcock ever since.
Babcock is back behind a bench this season with Edmonton, and the early results are loud. The Oilers are 8-1-1 through 10 games and sit atop the Western Conference. His handling of Connor McDavid’s ice time has been one of the bigger storylines around the team.
