The Dallas Stars' latest acquisition, Tyler Seguin, blamed hackers for posting a homophobic line from the Hollywood movie Full Metal Jacket that has gotten him in trouble with his new team.
The tweet was a variation of a line from the 1987 Stanley Kubrick movie; "Only steers and queers in Texas, and I'm not a cow;" and was deleted hours later.
Seguin posted an apology, tweeting on Sunday that he would shut down his Twitter account because of "repeated attempts by 'hackers' to try to damage my reputation."
The Stars, who traded for the former Boston Bruin forward along with forward Rich Peverley and defenseman Ryan Button in exchange for winger forward Loui Eriksson and three prospects (Joseph Morrow, Reilly Smith and Matt Fraser), quickly distanced themselves from the tweet in statement released Sunday. The NHL is a supporter of the "You Can Play" initiative designed to eliminating homophobia in sports
"In no way, shape or form does the Dallas Stars organization condone or agree with the message that was sent out through Tyler Seguin's Twitter feed last night We've addressed the issue directly with Tyler, and we'll continue to work on educating our players regarding the importance of their conduct on all forms of social media."
Seguin is a former No. 2 overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft who, despite immense talent and helping the Bruins win the 2011 Stanley Cup, struggled in this year's championship series - with one goal and seven assists in 22 playoff games - partly due to his partying ways.
The Boston Herald reports that that 21-year-old All Star was so caught up in the nightlife that Seguin was ordered to live in his hotel room during the playoffs with a guard hired to make sure he stayed in for the night.
"He's got to commit his mind and focus to the one task at hand," said Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli before softening his public stance prior to the trade. "I can say that about a lot of 21-year-olds. I know he got criticized for playing on the periphery and all that stuff. He did. He's got to commit to being a professional and focusing on the game. Simple as that."