Advertisement
Olympics Blog

Brian Burke won’t march in opening ceremony

By Helene Elliott
Sports ColumnistFollow
Share

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Brian Burke, general manager of the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team, has decided not to march in the opening ceremony Friday in the wake of his son’s death in a car accident last Friday.

Burke had planned to march into BC Place with the U.S. delegation but canceled his plans, a spokesman for USA Hockey confirmed Wednesday. The spokesman also said he was not sure when Burke would arrive.

Advertisement

Brendan Burke, 21, and a friend, Mark Reedy, died as the result of injuries they suffered in a two-vehicle accident on a snowy road in Indiana. Funeral services for Brendan Burke were held Tuesday in Canton, Mass., and for Reedy in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

Burke’s decision will leave Kings defenseman Jack Johnson as the only representatives of the men’s hockey team who plan to participate in the opening ceremony. The NHL season continues through Sunday, making it impossible for most players to march here. The men’s hockey tournament starts Tuesday.

The U.S. women’s team plans to march in the opening ceremony.

-- Helene Elliott

Olympics Blog
Helene Elliott

Helene Elliott was with the Los Angeles Times’ Sports department from 1989 to 2024, first as a staff writer and then, starting in 2006, as a columnist. She became the first female journalist to be honored with a plaque in the Hall of Fame of a major professional sport as the 2005 winner of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Elmer Ferguson Award, awarded to writers “who have brought honor to journalism and to hockey.” A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., and graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, she has covered 18 Olympics.

Advertisement