Doug Gilmour calls out fan for burning his Leafs jersey | Daily Hive

Doug Gilmour/Twitter

Toronto Maple Leafs former team captain Doug Gilmour didn’t mince his words when he was shown a picture of a fan setting his Leafs jersey on fire.

After the Leafs were eliminated from the playoffs on Monday, fan reaction was understandably quite emotional, but Gilmour believes that one fan, in particular, took it too far.

“Well, this is very disappointing,” Gilmour tweeted out Wednesday evening. “How do I approach this? We’re all disappointed the Leafs didn’t make it to the second round. This is on social media, this guy setting my jersey on fire. I don’t play for the Leafs, but I support the Leafs.”

Well this is very disappointing. How do I approach this? We’re all disappointed the Leafs didn’t make it to the second round. This is on social media, this guy setting my jersey on fire. I don’t play for the leafs but I support the Leafs.
1/2 pic.twitter.com/Bv6MY9pDDB

— Doug Gilmour (@douggilmour) June 2, 2021

“Please respect the Leafs jersey,” Gilmour continued. “And if you don’t want it, donate it to a charity, hospital or someone you know. Charities are desperate to raise money right now, and these jerseys can help them if you don’t want them.”

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Jersey burning has been an unfortunate social media phenomenon over the last decade or so following a playoff loss or a popular player departure in free agency. As Gilmour said, disappointment is natural, but there’s no use in setting fire to a uniform to get a few shares on social media.

While the jersey burner here got the attention he was looking for, looping in a player like Gilmour —who last played for the Leafs in 2003— does not seem like a productive outlet of modern sports-related anger.