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NEW YORK -- John Tortorella was defiant in stating that the New York Rangers didnt take a step back when they were knocked out of the Stanley Cup playoffs in the second round. General manager Glen Sather thought otherwise and fired the combative coach on Wednesday. The fiery Tortorella was let go four days after the Rangers season ended with a Game 5 loss at Boston to the Bruins. New York had reached the Eastern Conference finals last year and was considered to be a championship contender in this lockout-shortened season. "I came up with the decision that I really needed to do something to improve our team going forward," Sather said during a conference call. "Every coach has a shelf life. Ive told every guy that Ive hired that at some point in time this is going to change. "Our goal is to win the Stanley Cup and we didnt achieve that goal this year. I had to make a decision, so I did." Tortorella was unexpectedly dismissed with one year left on his contract. In 319 regular-season games with New York, including a four-game run at the end of the 1999-2000 season, Tortorella went 171-118-1-29. He was 19-25 in the post-season, and reached the playoffs in four of five seasons after taking over as coach in February 2009. "Every time a coach gets fired, it is a surprise for me, because ultimately, we, the players, are responsible for our own play on the ice," Rangers backup goaltender Martin Biron told the Associated Press in a text message. Tortorella, hired to replace Tom Renney with 21 games remaining in the 2008-09 season, achieved some success with the Rangers but couldnt match the Stanley Cup title he earned in 2004 with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Sather said Tortorellas contract status didnt factor into the decision. "It wasnt one thing and I am certainly not going to speculate or start to criticize what happened with Torts and give you a lot of reasons why we decided to do this," Sather said. "After the analytical work that we do every year at the end of the season, trying to decide how were going to improve the team and how were going to move forward, this is a decision I made." Sather didnt name an immediate replacement, but hopes to have a new coach in place by the June 30 NHL draft in Newark, N.J. Former NHL coaches Lindy Ruff and Alain Vigneault could be candidates for New York. Sather wouldnt speculate whether anyone currently employed by the Rangers would be considered. The fate of assistant coach Mike Sullivan will be decided during the teams organizational meetings in June. "Hopefully whoever we hire has a lot of the good things that Torts had and a lot of good things that Tom Renney had," Sather said. "There are a number of good coaches around, and a lot of them have different qualities. It is a little tricky sometimes to find someone who has all those qualities, but hopefully thats what were going to have this time around. "I am certain that were going to find the right person." Last season, Tortorella led the Rangers to 51 wins -- the second-most in franchise history -- and 109 points before they were beaten in six games by New Jersey in the conference finals. He finished his Rangers tenure in fourth place on the teams career coaching wins list. The 54-year-old Tortorella got the Rangers back into the playoffs in this lockout-shortened season, and New York outlasted Washington in seven games in the first round of the playoffs before being knocked out by Boston. "I felt this was a decision that had to be made going forward," Sather said. "I think he was shocked, but he is a gentleman and he took it very well." Tortorella made curious comments on Monday when the Rangers packed up for the season, which could have led to his ouster. In his final meeting with reporters, Tortorella said his club wasnt emotionally ready to take on Boston after getting past Washington with back-to-back shutout wins when it faced elimination. "One of the things, and it falls on my shoulders, is our teams mindset going into another round," Tortorella said. "I dont think our mindset was ready to play another series and to the level you need to be at. It didnt have a playoff atmosphere. "Thats what I struggle with right now. I didnt do a good enough job in correcting and getting their mindset back to not only play at the level of a Game 7 in the first round but get ready for round 2, which is always going to be tougher." Even though the Rangers were knocked out earlier this year, Tortorella emphatically stated he didnt believe the team regressed. "I know the surrounding feeling here is that it was a negative season, a disappointing season. I dont buy it and I wont," Tortorella said. "There are some good things that happened. I dont think we took a step backward. I think this is a sideways step in our lineup and how things worked out. "We played really well our last couple of months to get in, found a way to win a big series against Washington, and against Boston I thought we competed right to the end." However, starting goalie Henrik Lundqvist disagreed with that assessment. Lundqvist is entering the final year of his contract and would be eligible to become an unrestricted free agent next summer. "It is a step back," Lundqvist said. "We were in the conference finals last year, we had high expectations on ourselves this year. It didnt go our way, so yeah it is a step back. Its tough to make it there, though. You cant just expect it to happen." Sather said he hadnt talked to Lundqvist, but added the teams plan is to sign him to a new long-term deal. The Rangers entered the 48-game season as a prime contender to win the Stanley Cup, especially after the off-season acquisition of top forward Rick Nash in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets. After a slow start, the Rangers rallied to a 26-18-4 record and the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. But New York struggled to score in the post-season, and Nash and Brad Richards were among the biggest offenders. Nash recorded only one goal and five assists in the Rangers 12 playoff games. Richards, who has seven years remaining on a nine-year deal, was a bigger disappointment and was a healthy scratch by Tortorella in the final two games against the Bruins. Sather said that move was an organizational decision. Richards had thrived under Tortorella when they won the Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay, but he managed only one goal and zero assists in his 10 post-season games. Richards will likely also be gone from the Rangers, who can buy out the remainder of his lucrative deal and remove him from the salary cap that will go down for next season. Tortorella is the career leader in wins by a U.S.-born coach with 410. He was an assistant coach with the Rangers in the 1999-2000 season and took over for John Muckler as head coach for the final four games. Tortorella was then hired by the Lightning and he was their coach for seven seasons -- compiling a mark of 239-222-36-38 and earning the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year in the championship 2003-04 season. Yeezy Boost 350 v2 Semi Frozen Yellow/Raw-Steel Red . Shot outdoors against the stunning backdrop of Banff, Alta., the networks 30-minute original production airs tonight at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2. The four All-Star teams will play for $100,000 in prize money during TSNs annual skins game, airing live this weekend on TSN from The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre. Fake Yeezy Boost 350 v2 Black . 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By now youve heard about San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refusing to stand for the national anthem. He has said hell continue to sit until he sees a significant change in the treatment of people of color in our country.Reactions to Kaepernicks protest have been swift and strong, with many seeming to condemn the act without bothering to listen to the motivation.Some complained about him criticizing a country that has afforded him the opportunity to make millions of dollars playing football. Kaepernick said hes not speaking for himself but for those without a platform: Ive been blessed to be able to get this far and have the privilege of being in the NFL and making the kind of money I make and enjoy luxuries like that. I cant look in the mirror and see other people dying in the street that should have the same opportunities that Ive had and say, you know what, I can live with myself.Others have claimed that Kaepernicks act was disrespectful to U.S. troops. Kaepernick said he has great respect for our military, which has had his family and friends among its ranks. They fight for freedom, they fight for the people, they fight for liberty and justice, for everyone. Thats not happening. People are dying in vain because this country isnt holding their end of the bargain up.Ever since the story broke Friday night, it seems everyones been eager to give a take. NFL coaches and players -- including Drew Brees -- have weighed in with their criticisms of the act, the message or both. Some players have said they support his message, but not the forum.The NFL communitys discussions about Kaepernicks actions stand in stark contrast to the responses many players and coaches have given when asked about domestic abuse in the NFL. Some players reacted strongly to the video of Ray Rice knocking out his then-fiancee in an Atlantic City elevator. Some said theyd rather not have Greg Hardy in their locker room after photos surfaced of his then-girlfriends visible bruising the night of his alleged assault. But for the most part, when asked about incidents of domestic violence -- even those documented in photos or video -- players stay mum or claim they dont have enough information to criticize.Dr. Eric M. Carter, an associate professor of sociology at Georgetown College in Kentucky, spoke to the New York Times about the relative silence among pro athletes when it comes to hot-button issues like the Rice video. Why dont we see more collective action among athletes? said Carter. Because theyve got too much to lose individually, or at least they perceive they have too much to lose individually.Carter interviewed over 100 players for his 2009 book, Boys Gone Wild: Fame, Fortune and Deviance Among Professional Football Players and said job security is a big reason players keep quiet. I think its part of that We all have short careers, weve got to get what we want right now mentality. Weve got to protect ourselves, in that sense, Carter told the Times. Maybe it comes off as protecting their teammates, which is what we would all like to think, that theres this real social bond that exists among these guys, but maybe not so much as youd think.Were seeing that again now with Giants kicker Josh Brown, who has been suspended one game afterr a May 2015 arrest on a charge of assault in the fourth degree/domestic violence, for which he was suspended one game by the NFL on Wednesday.dddddddddddd Browns ex-wife told police that he had been physically violent with her in more than 20 instances over the past several years.Said Giants defensive end Jason Pierre Paul: Were all family around here. People have their own problems to handle. Hes still our brother and we look past it.Said Giants QB Eli Manning: I dont think there is a whole lot to say. To the team, if Josh wants to say something, he can explain his case. I dont know a whole lot of details about what happened. I know hes been suspended and thats about all I know.Said Giants guard Justin Pugh: Obviously, you have to be there for your teammate. I dont want to get too into it because I dont know all the details ... but all we can do is support our teammate and make sure were there for him.Pugh did get into the Kaepernick situation, though, tweeting about how hell be sure to stand for the anthem.Ben McAdoo, who said shortly after taking over the Giants head-coaching gig that he wouldnt tolerate domestic violence, has made one statement on Browns abusive incident: I do support Josh as a man, a father and a player.Yet McAdoo had plenty to say about Kaepernicks protest on Monday, including this: Id be disappointed if one of our guys chose not to stand. Kaepernick speaking up for those without a voice is disappointing, but Brown earns McAdoos full support. Huh.It may not be surprising that while Browns coach and teammates are unwilling to speak out against him, no one else in the league has criticized the Giants, either, for re-signing their kicker to a two-year deal.Back in 2014, even Kaepernick himself played the not my business card when asked about the release of teammate Ray McDonald the day it was learned he was being investigated on suspicion of sexual assault. McDonald had previously been investigated for domestic violence.Hes a good friend to a lot of people on this team. No one thought bad of him, Kaepernick said then. Hopefully its just a misunderstanding. ... I understand why the team did what it did. Other than that, its not my business.Violence against women, like racial oppression, should be everyones business. And we should be able to talk freely about these issues.The fact that players are jumping at the chance in 2016 to speak out about Kaepernicks protest proves its not just about the desire to keep quiet for the sake of job security. The key is whether theyre willing to listen to the disenfranchised, be it a survivor of domestic abuse or a target of police brutality.I look forward to the day when people stand up and demand justice for people with the same passion they display in defending symbols. After all, whats the point of defending the American flag if youre not invested in protecting the very people it represents? Whats the use in defending the freedoms our anthem promises if youre not willing to listen to those who arent truly free?Standing for the anthem is easy because its expected. Loving your country enough to want to make it better is real patriotism. ' ' '