THE MISUNDERSTOOD THEOREN FLEURY

By: Braedyn Wozniak, RP Show Intern

You can say what you want about Theoren Fleury, as long as it isn’t questioning his heart or his honesty. 

The NHL great catches a lot of flak in the media for his views, to the degree that Rod Pedersen was catching some of that flak for having Fleury on his show Thursday. 

In today’s political climate, expressing your honest opinion might be viewed as spreading “misinformation” or trying to divide the people of a nation. 

But that is not the Calgary Flames legend’s intent, and he made that very clear on the Rod Pedersen Show. 

“All I’m trying to do is make my country better,” said Fleury. “More prosperous, more abundant, less homelessness, less addiction problems and less mental health issues. That’s why I’m in this fight.” 

Fleury was known as an under-sized goal scoring winger in the NHL throughout the nineties, but in 2022, he’s known for a lot more. 

Now, he’s recognized as an advocate for mental health and addiction as he struggled mightily with it himself. On the flip-side, he is known as a far-right political influence with strong opinions many might oppose. 

To him, he’s doing what he was meant to do. 

“For many years of my life, I was so uncomfortable in my own skin. I couldn’t even sit in a chair for five minutes,” said Fleury. “For the first time in my life, I feel incredibly comfortable in my own skin, and a big reason why is because I’m standing in my truth.”

Sure, some might not agree with some of his views, but that shouldn’t be what Theo Fleury’s character is judged by. People need to look past his opinions if they disagree and realize his heart is truly in the right place. 

“We live in a world that’s so divided, and when we come together, the vaxxed, un-vaxxed, Liberals, Conservatives, Greens, Libertarians, whoever you are. When we come together, this is all over,” said Fleury. 

Fleury has always had a huge heart. It’s heart that got the 5’6” right-winger all the way to rough and rowdy NHL in the 80’s and 90’s. 

Now, I might be a little biased in writing this column, as I idolized Fleury growing up. I didn’t know of his battle with substance abuse, mental health issues, or his political views.  

I just knew when I saw him sliding across centre-ice on his knees, screaming in joy after scoring the Game 6 overtime winner against the Oilers in 1991, I wanted to be like Theo. 

Now, I’m not old enough to have seen Fleury play live, but that didn’t stop me. It might be because I was a Flames fan and history buff. Maybe it was the pride he brought being from Oxbow, my corner of Saskatchewan. 

But I think the more logical reason was, and is, his heart-over-height mentality. By no means was I a small kid growing up, but always admired under-sized all-world athletes like Fleury and Weston Dressler, who also happens to be my all-time favourite CFL player. 

No excuses for being under-sized. Just because #14 was the smallest player on the ice every night didn’t stop him from scoring 455 goals and playing over 1,000 games in his NHL career. 

And just because people are tearing him down in the media and telling him he has no business spreading his “truth” doesn’t mean he’s going to stop. 

“I don’t do this for the fame or the recognition,” said Fleury. “I do it because somebody else did it for me a long time ago. That person was paying it forward, now I’m paying it forward.”  

He will continue to do whatever he can to make this world a better place, in whatever say he knows how. If you don’t like it, that’s on you. People better get used to it because he’s not going anywhere. 

And rightfully so. This world needs more people wanting to be like Theo, not less. 

 (The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm ET on Game+ TV and WQEE Radio)