FORMER NHL player Nick Tarnasky has revealed his side of the story of his viral golf course fight.
Video went viral last week of a brawl at Alberta Springs Golf Course in Alberta, Canada, and it was revealed that Tarnasky was one of the participants.
Nick Tarnasky went viral for a golf course fight last week[/caption]
Tarnasky is a former NHL enforcer currently enjoying retirement[/caption]
The fight stemmed from a drunk player taking too long to complete holes and challenging other patrons to fights.
“At the end of the day, I asked him not to, told him he shouldn’t get involved with me,” Tarnasky said.
“I asked him to move on, I gave him every opportunity not to, and he charged at me.
“I’m not going to fold over, that’s not my nature.”
The drunk golfer, who has since been identified as Trevor Ogilive, should’ve heeded Tarnasky’s warning, as the fight was completely one-sided.
Tarnasky is a 6-foot-2, 230 pound former NHL enforcer who beat Ogilive up badly and tossed him into a pond.
The former hockey enforcer said that he got into the fight after Ogilive threatened to fight his friend and their fiancee.
Tarnasky said he arrived on Hole 15 and told Ogilive’s group “Hey guys, we gotta get moving.”
“That instantly set him off,” Tarnasky said.
“He’s doing the fist-clenching and the pumping his arms, and that’s where the altercation starts that’s on the video.”
Tarnasky said that he was trying not to escalate the situation, and gave Ogilive every warning that he was going to toss him into the pond.
“If I hear I’m going to get thrown in the pond by this f—ing mutant, maybe I’m going to chill out,” Tarnasky said.
“I thought maybe that could be a fun way to be like, ‘You guys are in the wrong, let’s speed things up.’”
Ogilive admited after the fact that the fight “was not his finest moment” and that his “mouth ran faster than his brain.”
He offered up an apology, but not until after Tarnasky put a beating on him and tossed him into the pond.
Tarnasky last played in the NHL in 2010[/caption]
Police ended up going to the golf course, where Tarnasky explained exactly what happened.
He said the aftermath of the situation has been “pretty tough” even though he is being seen as the good guy.
“It’s nice to hear from damn near every single teammate I’ve played with for 13-14 years of my life,” he laughed
“Guys are fired up.”
Tarnasky played five seasons in the NHL from 2005 to 2010 with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, and Nashville Predators.
