AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Thirty Three
Sitting back against the couch,I exhale the breath I had been holding for what seems like the entire time I was reading the post. My eyes are already scanning the screen again to reread.
My name is Maddison Thorne, and I'm the voice behind The Puck Bunny. For the past three years, I've reported on all things hockey. Stats and Scandals.
I want to give you a little backstory and explain why, after all of this time, I'm no longer going to be anonymous. When I started The Puck Bunny, my entire goal was to report on hockey, and stay true to who I am. Honest, empathetic and kind. Somewhere along the way, I lost sight of that.
I reported on things that, while still involving hockey, inadvertently hurt people. And that's not the person I am. While I've only reported the truth and hard facts, I didn't realize that in doing so, I was hurting people. I recognize that while most news outlets are intrusive, all I did was make things more difficult for the people I was reporting on.
My headlines went from something I was proud of, to something I could no longer stand to look at.
I'd like to think that over time, I changed, and that's why I stopped reporting on the scandals, and focused more on stats, until I stopped all together.
This post is about responsibility. It’s about owning up to my mistakes and trying to make them right. It’s taking action instead of just writing about it, like I should have done a lot earlier, and honestly, this post is for you, the reader.
This is what you deserve.
I'm writing this post to let you know that from this point forward, I willonlybe reporting on the positive, encouraging, meaningful things that take place in the hockey community. Not only that, I'm working with a few people who I am so glad to call my friends, even after everything, to make the stigma around social media...different. Better.
From this moment on, I'm going to take responsibility for any hurt that I've caused, and I want to apologize.
I'm sorry. No one can change the past; we can only move forward from the things we’ve done wrong. Myself, along with several others, will be working within Chicago's sports community to spread positivity, and offer guidance to young players who are struggling. We want to support and encourage, that's our top priority.
I'm ending this message with a public apology to someone who deserves it most of all. Briggs Wilson.
Not only because I'm hopelessly in love with him and I need the world to know it, but because he is the one that my reporting hurt most of all. He’s the one who deserves this apology, and I want the whole world to hear it. To know how deeply sorry I am.
He's the coach to an amazing youth hockey team that just won their first championship cup. Go Mighty Pucks. He's dedicated countless hours with these wonderful children who look up and admire him. Check out the next page to see a video from some of his players as they explain some of the things they've learned from him this year.
Not only has he coached youth hockey, he's volunteered at countless charity functions and donated his entire salary to a charity that supports battered women.
I'm not telling you all of this to brag, I'm telling you this because, instead of the headlines that I published, these are things that I should've been reporting on. I'm forever sorry.
Briggs is kind, compassionate, selfless, and the most amazing man I've ever met, and I hope that if he's reading this, he can find it in his heart to forgive me for not being honest with him sooner. But, even if he doesn’t, you deserve the whole truth. The story of this man that I haven’t told.
With all ofthat being said, it feels good to be honest with you.
Next week, I'm going to be featuring a few players who have done so much good in our community, and I hope you'll join my live next week with Chicago's favorite captain, Reed Davidson, as he talks about the effects of social media in both a professional and personal stance.
I hope that in the coming days, you help me by showingup for Chicago’s favorite guys, and by helping to make the news a more positive place, one report at a time.
Sincerely,
The Puck Bunny XOXO
Holy shit.
I can't believe that she came forward and told the world who she is. I didn't expect it, and I would’ve never asked her to reveal her identity, no matter the cost.
She’s changing everything aboutThe Puck Bunny?
My mind is spinning in circles, desperately trying to hold on to something after the whiplash from the past week and a half.
I’ve gone through so many different emotions; hurt, anger, the feeling of being betrayed again, questioning not only Maddison, but myself and my own choices.
Wondering how the fuck we ended up here, and then just like she said… she took responsibility and told the entire damn world who she was.
The doorbell rings just as I close the laptop and set it on the coffee table. I've only been back home for a few days. After having to listen to Reed and Holland all night, I was ready to beat my head into the wall...but, it's their house.
