Sidney Crosby's vocal support of the Pittsburgh Penguins taking part in a visit to the White House has been met with heavy criticism from around the hockey world.
Related: Penguins still plan to visit White House; support rights of others to protest
On Wednesday, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan stood up for his captain and defended his team's decision to still make the trip to meet President Donald Trump.
"The fact that people seem to think Sid needs to bear this burden of responsibility is unfair," Sullivan told reporters, according to Sam Werner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
"The guy does nothing but come to the rink, help the Penguins win championships, and be a good person every day. That's how we see it."
While Crosby has taken plenty of heat in the media for siding with his team's unpopular stance on White House visits, Sullivan feels the club hasn't taken any stance at all.
"I think that there appears to be a perception out there that because our organization has made a decision to accept the invitation to the White House that we have taken a stance on the issue when the reality is it's just the opposite. We haven't taken any stance," Sullivan said.
" ... There appears to be a perception we have. It's wrong."
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