Rookie St. Louis goalie phenom addresses old tweets about burkas, foreign-language taxi driver

St. Louis Blues rookie goalie Jordan Binnington is facing an off-ice distraction as he prepares for the NHL playoffs: the emergence of oldtweets about women in burkas and a taxi driver speaking a foreign language.

"I was thinking, when people who wear the burkasare at the airport how are people able to see if that's them in their passport," he tweeted in 2013. "Also if you're underage & nervous about getting into a bar, throw the damn burka on. No way the bouncer will get into that awkward questioning."

In 2014, he tweeted "Ya taxi man I'd probably rather listen to the radio than listen to you talk on the phone in another language."

Following a morning skate in Winnipeg on Wednesday, he said his tweets were sarcastic.

"It was a while ago when I was a teenager and it was a little sarcasm, joking around, when I was a teenager. That's what life's about, you live and learn and you grow as a human," said the goalie, who's now 25. "I'm just here to play in the playoffs, a couple of hockey games."

Binningtonshrugged off a question as to whether the tweets will be a distraction. Of more concern would be the Winnipeg Jets: on Tuesday, forward Patrik Lainetold reporters he would try to make the rookie goalie nervous.

St. Louis coach Craig Berube declined to comment on the tweets, noting Binnington addressed them.

Controversial tweets from Blues goaltender emerge on eve of NHL playoffs

6 years ago

Duration 4:35

As the Winnipeg Jets prepare to host the St. Louis Blues in the first game of the Stanley Cup playoffs, CBC News' Karen Pauls reports on the unearthing of controversial tweets made by Blues rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington in 2013 and 2014.