Dallas Stars distance themselves from Tyler Seguin after latest Twitter fiasco

Tyler Seguin is already in hot water with his new club. (Dave Sandford/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

So much for a fresh start.

Tyler Seguin hasn't yet stepped foot in Texas since being acquired by the Dallas Stars on Thursday and already the organization has gotten a taste of the maturity problem that got him bounced from Boston.

A homophobic tweet sent out to his nearly 275,000 followers last night forced the Stars to distance from him publicly.

"In no way, shape or form does the Dallas Stars organization condone or agree with the message that was sent out through Tyler Seguin's Twitter feed last night. We've addressed the issue directly with Tyler and we'll continue to work on educating our players regarding the importance of their conduct on all forms of social media."

Ouch. Not exactly a strong first impression with the new boss.

Here's Seguin's tweet, which has since been deleted (s/t to Connor Small):

https://twitter.com/connorsmall_/status/353956019703009280

After the tweet began attracting attention, Seguin tried to deflect blame by claiming his account had been hacked. At this point, that line of defense has about as much credibility as saying the dog ate your homework. Still, when you consider the actual content of the message, it's almost plausible. It reads more like the work of a prankster than a hacker.

Early on Sunday, he announced he was backing away from Twitter.

https://twitter.com/tylerseguin92/statuses/353913187126611970

Probably the best idea he's had in awhile.

Whatever the real story is here, the end result is a reputation that's in serious need of rehabilitation. This comes less than two weeks after he was ripped for his play in the postseason and just days after Seguin was blasted for a lack of professionalism by Boston GM Peter Chiarelli. As soon as the trade was finalized, rumors that had been percolating about his questionable decision-making away from the rink bubbled to the surface.

And this isn't the first time he's tweeted something potentially objectionable. Earlier this year, he added "no homo" to a description of his reaction after listening to a song written by his roommate. He later apologized for using that phrase.

There was no apology this time -- probably a good thing given the "I didn't do it" defense -- but either way Seguin's judgment should be called into question. If he did it, he has to learn that he can't afford to use the "I'm just a 21-year-old kid" excuse anymore. And if this was the work of a prank-pulling buddy, he clearly needs to make better decisions about who he hangs out with...and where he leaves his phone.