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Auston Matthews calls out journalist who reported positive COVID-19 test
Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews took umbrage with a prominent hockey reporter following Toronto’s 2-0 loss to Columbus on Sunday.
Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun reported that Matthews tested positive for COVID-19 in June, the lone reporter who identified the Leafs’ forward publicly as the unnamed player who received the positive test.
When Simmons was queued up in the post-game conference, Matthews expressed his displeasure with the reporter’s prior story.
Here is Auston Matthews taking a question from Steve Simmons and owning him.
Peep Morgan Rielly's face when Steve Simmons announced himself. pic.twitter.com/vosbVuU2xa— Leah Kessel (@leahflame) August 3, 2020
“First of all, it’s unfortunate I’m getting a question from you at this point, Steve. I just wanted to say that I didn’t appreciate the article you wrote about me a couple of months ago. I thought it was a bit unethical, to be honest,” Matthews said, before responding to Simmons’ question about the Blue Jackets’ defensive systems.
Simmons would later respond to Matthews’ remarks, saying he would’ve followed up with him earlier if it weren’t for the global pandemic.
For the record, I have no problem with what Auston Matthews said tonight. He's not a journalist. He's a pro athlete. If we weren't in this COVID situation, I'm sure we would have had the conversation face to face long before this.
— steve simmons (@simmonssteve) August 3, 2020
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