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Brian Burke hangs up on radio host for asking if his job is on the line

Brian Burke

Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke speaks to the media for the first time since the death of his 21-year-old Brendan on Friday, Feb. 12, 20101, before an NHL hockey game between the Maple Leafs and the St. Louis Blues in St. Louis.(AP Photo/Tom Gannam)

AP

Apparently it’s “gutless” to ask Brian Burke a tough question. Toronto’s general manager was interviewed by NewsTalk 1010 host John Moore on Tuesday, and after touching on subjects like the “You Can Play Project,” the Ron Wilson firing, and Don Cherry, the subject of Burke’s job security with the Maple Leafs was brought up. (Listen to the interview here.)

A partial transcript via the National Post:

Q: One last question for you, Brian Burke, changing coaches is always an option, but a lot of people on a panel I was hosting this weekend said it was time for the general manager to be changed.

Burke: “Well, I haven’t heard that. And I don’t know what panel you were hosting. That’s up to ownership. I wish you’d told me before you asked me to do this interview that that was going to be your last question, a nice little cheap shot before you get off the air.”

Q: I’m giving you a chance to answer it.

Burke: “Well, that’s up to ownership, when the GM gets changed. But I wish you’d told me that off the air before, you were going to take a little swing on the way out. But I guess that’s what people in your line of work do.”

Q: Well, Brian Burke, I’m not taking a swing. The possibility of a general manager being changed when a team isn’t performing well is always there. So I’m asking you if you feel like you’re close to the door.

Burke: “No, I don’t. And I think it’s an ignorant question, and a gutless one, too.”

And then he hung up.

Anyway, I’m not sure why Burke flew off the handle like that. It’s not an interviewer’s job to prep the subject. And if the Leafs miss the playoffs for the fourth time on his watch, he’d better be prepared for the question, because it deserves to be asked.