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Samuel Montembeault reveals the painful truth that led him to leave social media
For several days now, Samuel Montembeault has been going through a really difficult situation with the Montreal Canadiens.
I fully understand that sports criticism is part of the game-everyone knows that-but I find that the atmosphere forming around him goes much further than that.
In my opinion, it's no longer just about goals allowed or statistics.
And as time goes on, it's becoming clearer that what he's going through is also affecting people who had nothing to do with any of this.
Samuel Montembeault's family also affected by pressure and social media
At the start of the week, Montembeault made an important decision.
According to what Marc André Dubois reported, he left social media because the pressure had become too difficult to handle.
After a few bad games, he no longer had the energy to face the wave of comments. I really understand that.
He even said that many messages had nothing to do with hockey anymore.
In a press conference, he summed up how he was feeling:
Sam Montembeault today on how he deals with the reaction from fans after a loss:
"Especially on social media, you gotta put that behind. I deleted my Instagram cause obviously after a loss, you can't go on it. Many things that are said aren't nice on there. You just gotta take all the noise and put it behind. Just trying to focus on me, focus on my game and not listen to what everybody has to say."
"Good games or bad games, people are always gonna have something to say. I just wanna focus on myself."
- Samuel Montembeault via Habs On Reddit
"Especially on social media, you gotta put that behind. I deleted my Instagram cause obviously after a loss, you can't go on it. Many things that are said aren't nice on there. You just gotta take all the noise and put it behind. Just trying to focus on me, focus on my game and not listen to what everybody has to say."
"Good games or bad games, people are always gonna have something to say. I just wanna focus on myself."
- Samuel Montembeault via Habs On Reddit
However, he didn't withdraw just for himself.
According to Dubois, he also did it to protect his loved ones. I had the unpleasant experience of looking through some of the social media messages, and very quickly, I saw many aimed at his wife and family. It's definitely gone way too far.
His partner should never come across hurtful messages.
His parents, who have supported him from Bécancour, should never see inappropriate words that attack the person instead of the player.
I sincerely think that's the saddest part of this whole story...
We can debate a bad game or a poor stretch of play.
But there's a line that should never be crossed.
And in recent days, that line has been crossed far too often.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 13 | 598 ANSWERS Samuel Montembeault reveals the painful truth that led him to leave social media Do you think the criticism of Samuel Montembeault has crossed the line of respect? | ||
| Yes | 308 | 51.5 % |
| No | 189 | 31.6 % |
| Not sure | 101 | 16.9 % |
| List of polls | ||