What
people are saying...
CBC Sports Online | Last updated May 14
"Your best friends now are your attorneys. It's best to keep your mouth shut."
--U.S. District Court Judge Michael Reagan, after he barred all contact between Mike Danton and his controversial agent David Frost.
"The most confounding aspect of the Frost-Danton relationship is the never-changing issue of control. The words Danton spoke on a prison telephone line sounded robotically like Frost speaking himself. The tone and intonation was Frost. The attempt at shifting the story was pure Frost."
-- Toronto Sun columnist Steve Simmons reacts to statements made by Mike Danton denouncing they way his parents' raised him.
"Since Michael was 15 years old, Michael has never said a word that came out of his own mind. He's just a tape recording. It was his words and [Frost's] thoughts."
-- Stephen Jefferson,
Mike Danton's father, lashes out at David Frost after his son made statements
denouncing they way his parents' raised him.
"It's beyond shock. I don't know what to say."
-- Doug Weight, St. Louis Blues forward
"We're worried about his life right now and what he's going through. It's a scary thought."
-- Doug Weight
"Obviously we're all pretty stunned by this. We don't know everything. We're definitely behind him and just want to be there to support him. Whatever happens we're there to help in anyway he needs."
-- Ryan Johnson, St. Louis Blues forward and Mike Danton's usual roommate on the road.
"He had things he wanted to get off his chest and he needed help to do so. We were setting something up for him for the end of the season."
-- David Frost,
Mike Danton's agent
"Unequivocally, I can tell you it had nothing to do with drugs
and alcohol, period. Once we get all the facts, we'll be able to realize
what really happened. He's a good kid. He really is."
-- David Frost in an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"This has nothing to do with a gay lover or his relationship with any female. We're going to get him some help, some treatment. He's had some issues from his younger years that he needs to deal with."
-- David Frost in an interview with the New York Daily News, refuting speculation that the incident involved Danton's fear of being outed as a homosexual
"He fears absolutely nothing and that is something I can't teach. He brings an edge."
-- Pat Burns, Mike Danton's coach with the New Jersey Devils during the 2002-03 season.
"I don't like it and I'm ticked off. If the team wasn't winning or I wasn't doing my job, I would have no problem with this. I've done nothing but work my butt off for this team. They said I wasn't being punished, but it sure does feel like punishment to me. I'm not the type of player who is happy just to be here and collect a paycheque."
- Mike Danton, after being scratched for a game in October 2002. A few weeks later he was suspended for refusing a minor league assignment.
"He brings a great presence to the dressing room, so it's just real tough to see him go through this. I really do feel like he's family. It's unfortunate, because he's a great guy."
-- Bryce Salvador, St. Louis Blues defenceman
"It's crazy. I'm shocked. You don't see this kind of thing too much in our sport. It really is too bad."
-- Mike Fisher, Ottawa Senators forward who also played against Danton during their junior careers in the Ontario Hockey League.
"The matter
is in the hands of law enforcement officials and the judicial system."
-- Frank Buonomo, Blues spokesman
"Out of anyone that I've known in hockey, I could see something wacky coming from that guy. You could see he was a time bomb ticking. ... I feel sorry for him though, I wouldn't wish this on anyone."
-- Ryan O'Keefe, Mike Danton's former Barrie Colts teammate
"But whatever demons haunted him, Danton turned them into an asset on the ice. They made him a fearless warrior. Remember the daring sight of Danton squaring off against Ottawa defenceman Zdeno Chara? There was Danton, puffing up like some 5-foot-9-inch banty rooster, in a brawl with a 6-foot-9 giant who's a candidate for the NHL's Norris Trophy as the league's best defenceman. That was typical Mike Danton. Fearless, relentless, possessed."
-- Bryan Burwell,
columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Courtesy CBC