"Feel shame" - Ex-NHL referee recalls how Sidney Crosby lost his temper over cross-check call but soon apologized

Sidney Crosby has been in the NHL for 20 seasons and he's had his fair share of encounters with referees during that time. One such interaction stood out to former referee Dave Jackson.

Jackson praised Crosby by telling a tale of how he once lost his temper with Jackson. That's not uncommon in professional sports, as all referees have tense interactions with players. Crosby, however, cooled down and even apologized after the fact.

Jackson said he remembers two things about Crosby specifically. The first was a game against the Buffalo Sabres that was filled with penalties. Jackson called Crosby for cross-checking and he felt it was pretty blatant.

He continued:

"He disagreed vociferously. He did not think he cross-checked this guy, and he was telling me to go look at it between periods, and feel shame basically, and then come back and basically apologize to him for that call."

Crosby was furious with the call, but he eventually watched the film during the period break. He made a "beeline" to Jackson with his head sheepishly down. The ref continued:

"He just was shaking his head. He said, 'I watched it between periods, and I am very sorry. Shouldn't have spoken hat way, I deserve that penalty. Please forgive me.' And I don't hold the grudge. And I thought that was very respectful."

Crosby saw that he was in the wrong and that he deserved to be penalized and he made a point to apologize for treating the ref so poorly initially.

---

Sidney Crosby to play in 4 Nations Face-Off

Sidney Crosby's status for the 4 Nations Face-Off was in jeopardy after he suffered an arm injury and missed the Pittsburgh Penguins' final two games before the break.

Sidney Crosby will play for Canada (Imagn)

There was an expectation that if he did play, he certainly would miss the opener, but ESPN reports that he is good to go for that game. Crosby said on Monday:

"It's been busy. Just trying to see where I was at and get treatment and talk to everybody. It was a busy week but I'm happy to be here and excited to get going."

Canada takes on Sweden for their first game on Wednesday and they'll have their captain available.