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In a 20-minute phone conversation, Sparklin, a driver for 2 1/2 years and father of six, was clearly distraught, at one point sobbing.

After stewing over the episode with the players over the course of the evening — it was the day before the Sens took on the Coyotes — Sparklin said he posted part of the video on YouTube in an intoxicated state. “I was not in the right state of mind.”

He said his intention was to show other drivers the behaviour of the high-priced athletes, none of whom he knew or recognized, having attended one NHL game in his life.

“You get a bunch of guys together and they’ll typically be guys,” he said, by way of partial explanation of the incident at the start of the ride.

“They wanted to stay together.”

The decision to transport seven highly paid professional athletes, he said, “put me at high risk.”

Photo by Screen grab / Postmedia

“What really upset me the most was, if I were to get in an accident, I don’t believe the insurance would cover it. The million-dollar policy would go very fast.”

Once the video went up, he said it had about 100 or so views before he was contacted and told to take it down, which he did. Beforehand, however, Sparklin had also tweeted about it.

THE REACTION: ‘Stronger moving forward’: Senators ready to move on from Uber video

He tried to explain his position to Uber but was told he had violated the terms of service. “I’m in Arizona, so you can fire someone for the colour of their shoes.”

He said he was surprised at the level of candour from the players during the ride. “I think when you see that video, it’s kind of shocking. I’m just not accustomed to that kind of language and how they’re talking in that kind of atmosphere.”