Donald Brashear on Fighting

Before I went to Tuesday night's Caps-Pens game, I told one of my co-workers that I was planning on talking to Caps fans on what they thought about the team's decision to junk their current uniform style for a retro red, white and blue look that will be familiar to long-time fans of the franchise.

My colleague said that he thought that was a good idea, but that I should probably think about asking them about fighting instead. Realizing he was right, I changed my plans, and once I got to the arena, I asked the Caps PR person, Nate Ewell, to get me five minutes with Donald Brashear after the game.

Needless to say, Brashear wasn't crazy about having to answer anymore questions about fighting. As my friend Rob Visconti said a few days ago, asking Donald Brashear to talk about fighting is a lot like asking the Rolling Stones to play 'Satisfaction' for the eight millionth time. And at the start of the video, it's pretty clear he's not exactly happy with me.

Donald Brashear on NHL Fighting
Uploaded by emcerlain

But to Donald's credit, once the questions started, he never hesitated to answer anything that I asked. And as you can see, he had a lot of interesting things to say about how he and other guys who play his role in the league feel that they have to suffer so the superstars can do their jobs. And no matter how you might feel about fighting, Brashear is worth listening to.