Abuse of Power by Gary Bettman? We Just Found Out What John Tortorella Said to Deserve Suspension, and It's Almost Ridiculous

Last week, John Tortorella was ejected from a game and refused to leave immediately. He continued to berate the referees and then made his way to the locker room.

The repercussions were historic, as Gary Bettman handed him a two-game suspension and a $50,000 fine. It's worth noting that the Flyers are in the midst of a playoff race.

Internally, the team owner and players rallied behind Tortorella. In fact, the coach won't have to pay out of his own pocket.




An expert in lip-reading put together a compilation of what Torts said to the referees, and to be honest, while it's still rough, these are things that are said every day on the ice, even towards officials.

We know Bettman really dislikes referees being targeted, and he punishes every inappropriate comment, but this time, he went too far. Many fans, not just Flyers fans, believe the commissioner demonstrated abuse of power.

I'll let you judge for yourself with the video below, but personally, I expected much worse.