Support for Connor Bedard after autograph incident shouldn't stop with Jessica Pegula

In late November, following a loss to the Colorado Avalanche, Connor Bedard became the subject of a viral video that showed him hesitating to autograph magazines from The Hockey News with him on the cover for a small group of fans in Denver. Bedard ultimately scribbled his name on two of the magazines while walking, hardly acknowledging the fans.

To some, it looked like Bedard came across as short, aloof, and standoffish. But it's important to remember that this wasn't a sanctioned autograph signing, and, let's be honest, if even an average fan who didn't know what players looked like outside of an NHL uniform saw Bedard and the group of teammates he was with, they probably wouldn't even have recognized him, or the group, as NHL players.

While some may have criticized Bedard for the way he acted, Jessica Pegula, star tennis player and daughter of Buffalo Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula, set the record straight. She said on the podcast Players Box, "The guy was older, and he was obviously selling these autographs. He (Bedard) was walking back from dinner, and the guy was really bugging him. A lot of older people bug the crap out of you for autographs when you know that they’re just going to sell them.”

More pro athletes should echo Pegula's words and support Bedard here, especially since he's been subjected to scrutiny. It's possible Bedard believed these fans were going to sell those magazines, so why would he waste his time signing them? Even if that wasn't the case, Bedard also isn't obligated to sign anything if a fan approaches him on the streets. 

Connor Bedard wasn't wrong to initially refuse an autograph before relenting

This is why sanctioned autograph sessions exist: so fans can briefly interact with their favorite players. And even if a fan looking to get a player's signature wants to turn around and sell it later, at least they weren't relentlessly bugging them in the middle of the day while the player was simply trying to mind their own business. 

Bedard isn't alone in this. Pro athletes like Dennis Rodman and Michael Jordan, two names Chicago sports fans are familiar with, also weren't fond of handing out autographs at the most random times.

It's not cool to approach a pro athlete in broad daylight and ask for a signature

For fans who think what the group approaching Bedard did was okay and that the Blackhawks' star should have willingly signed them, think about it this way: Would you sign for people approaching you in public? Maybe for a short time, but at some point, you would likely put a stop to it if it became an everyday occurrence.

For a player like Bedard, who is enjoying a breakout season, chances are, he'll have more people try to approach him for a signature. It's why Bedard should have refused and kept on walking. It should be a message to the fans that he's not just going to sign memorabilia at any random time.

It's why Jessica Pegula was right to weigh in on this and defend Bedard's actions. Should more pro athletes give their take on the matter, maybe a few more fans will realize that even star hockey players just want to be normal people when they're not scoring goals in front of tens of thousands.