Twitter awash in conflicting reports of Pat Burns’ death, son says rumor untrue

Former Maple Leafs coach Pat Burns, suffering from lung cancer, is said to be very ill.

News of his death has hit several Canadian news sites, including the Toronto Star, but posts on other sites have been pulled. Twitter has been blowing up with dueling entries either expressing condolences or chiding news sources for prematurely publishing information. The Toronto Star says:

Burns was at his home in Magog, Que., battling cancer. He had refused chemotherapy treatment.

“He fought a valiant fight,” said (Toronto Maple Leafs adviser Cliff) Fletcher.

Shortly thereafter, a hockey blogger tweeted:

This from a member of the Burns family: “Pat is surprised to learn he’s dead.” Pat Burns, as of this moment, is still alive.

The Toronto Sun quickly amended an article reporting Burns’ death to indicate that the former coach’s son has confirmed the reports of his father’s death to be untrue:

By Friday, conflicting news reports stated that he had died. His son Jason, however cleared up the rumours when he told an Ottawa radio station that he was still alive.

The debunking of Burns’ death has not stopped Twitter condolences from rolling in en masse.