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Ibearg

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Was it Really That Bad? Sean Avery Edition

by Ibearg
created December 09, 2008, last edited February 10, 2009
12
Vote

So I read Sean Avery was being suspended for his comments the other day and I was shocked. Mostly because it’s not the playoffs yet so I didn’t know the NHL season had started, but also because he was suspended for comments.

Don’t get me wrong the comments themselves were offensive to women, and shouldn’t have been said. As a guy I can’t fully understand how offensive they were but I understand they were offensive.

In all honesty, I doubt a good percentage of women where all that offended and this yahoo article details that.

But I don’t want to argue about how offensive the comments are or are not, I’m willing to concede that they are offensive. However offensive they are though they’re still just words, comments, etc. Don’t we usually just fine people for comments? I mean in the NBA people get fined for all kinds of comments about referees and other things.

The NHL has players elbowing each other, fighting each other, taking each other out at the knees and doing all types of reprehensible acts and this is what makes news? This is what warrants a 6 game suspension?

As far as I can tell the NHL made this a much bigger situation than it warranted by suspending him. There’s a good chance if they had just fined him and moved on no one outside of Dallas and parts of Canada would have even known he said it in the first place

I’ll finish by asking this simple question:  Sean Avery was suspended by Gary Bettmen and the NHL. Is it a coincidence that Sean Avery is also the same guy who basically said the NHL didn’t know what it was doing and didn’t know how to market itself?


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Smmonroe2Varsity Captain
350 days ago
Score 3+-
Avery was suspended for his comments but there is much more. Bettmen had warned Avery several times about his behavior on and off the ice and he went and made another comment. I agree that the punishment is harsh, but if you have watched the NHL at all this season, which it appears you haven't by looking at your lead, Avery has done some stupid and cheap things that should not be allowed in hockey.

Avery is a punk and yes punks do play hockey but there is no need for cheap stuff, you can be an instigator with out being cheap. Thats just my take on it.

Good read
Permalink | Reply
Anonymous Fanatic #1
350 days ago
Score -6+-
sean avery is the man. he plays old time hockey and ruffs up the pansy players. just because people dont wanna listen to him, what he should have done is call her a whore or something cool, he cleaned this one up for the kiddies
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RawbeezeitzMajor Leaguer
350 days ago
Score 8+-
Sean Avery plays hockey like a little girl. He doesn't "rough up" anyone unless their back is turned and one of Avery's teammates can come in to rescue him.


Weird how none of his teammates have protested the suspension...
Permalink
Smmonroe2Varsity Captain
350 days ago
Score 4+-
great point raw
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BigPPupMajor Leaguer
350 days ago
Score 6+-
His teammates hate him. It's the same story every where he goes. There's a reason he has played in like 5 different cities, he is a horrible teammate and an ass.
Permalink
RawbeezeitzMajor Leaguer
350 days ago
Score 5+-
It may be a 6 game suspension for Avery, but it's a 6 game vacation for the Stars.
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JuTMSY4Legend
349 days ago
Score 3+-
I agree with you about the Stars suspending him versus the League...

I'm not offended by the comments and I don't see too much of a problem with it other than being rude and stupid.

Avery certainly brought this on himself and went out of his way to say it...The NHL acted in a way they thought they should...I'm fine with them policing their league, so long as they continue to be fair about it...
Permalink
RawbeezeitzMajor Leaguer
350 days ago
Score 5+-
You have to understand the context of the comment. He went out of his way to find reporters with cameras to make sure his comments would be recorded. It was before playing Calgary, and one of Calgary's players is dating Elisha Cuthbert. Avery was suspended for his reputation, not what he said.


The one thing the NHL has going for it is that the players, in general, don't have reputations for being cocky or belligerent off the ice. Avery contradicts that to no end.


The only people to hate Avery more than fans and opposing players are his teammates.
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Ea34Div-I Stud
347 days ago
Score 2+-
I agree. The comments themselves weren't all that bad, but the situation with the reporters and his delivery of the statement seemed contrived.
Permalink
BigPPupMajor Leaguer
350 days ago
Score 0+-
Let me bottom line it. Was what he said that offensive overall? No it was not. It was stupid and pretty pointless, but it was not the worst thing he could have said. RawB is correct that Avery went out of his way to call reporters to him just so he could make his lil comment, and when you combine that with his history of flying off the hook and saying stupid things and testing the patience of Betmen and the rest of the league then the suspension makes sense. Granted I've said it many times since it happened, I don't like the suspension because I dont like the idea of censoring speech. What Avery said had nothing to do with the NHL so I think he has the right to say it. Nonetheless it was a stupid thing to say.
Permalink | Reply
JuTMSY4Legend
349 days ago
Score 8+-
A) I don't really see how he has a right to say it. Its certainly a defamatory statement made in poor taste, but moreover was done via the media and was just an attack. I'm hesitant to say its his right to say it.

B) He's at work. Can you say something like that at work, in front of the paying customers? The NHL absolutely has the right to suspend him and did more so because of his previous record.

C) It was in canada. Do they even have free speech? hahaha
Permalink
BigPPupMajor Leaguer
349 days ago
Score 0+-
I get what you're saying. But I just thought about this, today Im riding in to work, and I hear on the radio DC 101 the DJ announce a ticket contest where the first caller gets a choice of tickets to one of two events. The next caller gets and I quote "the sloppy seconds." Exact same thing that Avery said and no one bats an eye at it. Slightly different context but same thing. My point being, it's not the worse thing in the world that he said it. My whole issue with the suspension is I will always struggle with the concept of a league or a unit or an organization or government telling me what I can and cannot say and when I can and cannot say it. It establishes a bad precedent that the NHL did that. Because I know it's extreme but where do you draw the line at?
Permalink
JuTMSY4Legend
349 days ago
Score 4+-
Why? We do it here?
Permalink
BigPPupMajor Leaguer
349 days ago
Score 1+-
Eh to a lesser degree. I don't think we impede on anyone's right to free speech around here, unless you are doing something to disrupt the flow of the site, meaning you are hurting the site for whatever reason. Avery is not hurting the NHL. Hell if anything he may have helped it because it has gotten more press as of late than it has in a while, and who doesn't want to see him get his ass kicked when he gets back on the ice? And I'm pretty sure, I've seen worse than sloppy seconds posted on this site. However, I will throw this out there, had the Dallas Stars suspended Avery for being disruptive or hurting the team, I would be okay with that. Oddly enough. I think its were the suspension came from and why it came down that bothers me.
Permalink
CheezerAll-Star
349 days ago
Score 6+-
As I read my copy of the Constitution of The United States of America, the First Amendment says, and I quote, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

It never says that you are allowed to say whatever you want. Societal standards dictate what is accepted and what isn't. (We are a lot more liberal than the country was during Puritanical times.) What the 1st Amendment says is that Congress can't make a law that infringes on your right to free speech. The government can't make a law...

Also note that this only applies to government. A for-profit organization or corporation is well within their rights to demand certain behavioral standards from their employees. Especially when those employees are in the public representing the organization. In doing so they are protecting the shareholders.
Permalink
JuTMSY4Legend
349 days ago
Score 4+-
very valid and applicable...

except this happened in canada ; - )

None the less, cheez has much more eloquently stated my point
Permalink
Steel TownDraft Pick
349 days ago
Score 2+-
Except...The NHL is not Avery's employer, the Stars are.
Permalink
BigPPupMajor Leaguer
349 days ago
Score 2+-
I get that the NHL has the right to do what they want, its Betmans ball and he can take it and go home if he wants to. Nonetheless doesn't change my stance on censorship. Company, business, friends whatever. Just one of those things I feel very strongly about.
Permalink
CheezerAll-Star
349 days ago
Score 2+-
I can respect that.
Permalink
RawbeezeitzMajor Leaguer
349 days ago
Score 3+-
"I get that the NHL has the right to do what they want, its Betmans ball and he can take it and go home if he wants to."


Don't you mean it's his puck?


The NFL fines players for criticizing officials after games. MLB doesn't allow players to argue balls and strikes. John Rocker was suspended and vilified for words.


There's a great deal of grey area when it comes to censorship. To me, this isn't censorship. Nobody stopped Avery from saying what he said, they're simply punishing him for saying it in the manner he did. I'm sure he's told that joke in the locker room thousands of times, and it would never have lead to suspension. But seeking out reporters for the explicit purpose of discussing the intertwined sex lives of you and another player is reprehensible behavior. THE NHL not only has the right but the responsibility to punish him.


Everyone has the right to free speech, but everyone has to take responsibility for that speech.
Permalink
BigPPupMajor Leaguer
349 days ago
Score 1+-
You are absolutely right there is a grey area when dealing with censorship. Arguing balls and strikes is just a rule of the game, I dont see that as censorship. Im not crazy about the fact that the NFL and NBA fine guys for criticising officials, but again its a fine, its not a suspension. So I see the punishment as far less severe.
Permalink
Steel TownDraft Pick
350 days ago
Score 0+-
Personally I don't like the suspension. People should not be suspended on reputation and they should not be censored. Was it a crappy thing to do? Yes. Is he the only guy in the world to ever make a "sloppy seconds" comment. Not by a long shot. The league should do what it always does and let Phaneuf take one of his legendary cheap shots on Avery.
Permalink | Reply
RawbeezeitzMajor Leaguer
349 days ago
Score 1+-
Not the only one to make that joke, but probably the only one to go out of his way to make it in front of the camera right before playing one of the guys enjoying his "sloppy seconds."
Permalink
Gman2797JV Squad
349 days ago
Score 1+-
I personally feel like the reason he was suspended was to prevent the situation from getting out of hand. Avery was about to step on the ice to play AGAINST Phaneuf and you know Phaneuf wasn't going to let him get by with nothing.

The situation WOULD have been worse for the NHL if they allowed Avery to play and something drastic happened between him and Phaneuf on the ice.

Personally I think it was all damage control. I am sure the league didn't want to suspend a player for their comments as it sets a precedent that they can't possibly keep but they didn't want to have to suspend a player (especially a good young player like Phaneuf) for an extended period because he went after someone.
Permalink | Reply
Steel TownDraft Pick
349 days ago
Score 1+-
With all the attention this got the NHL might have actually punished Phaneuf for one of his cheap shots.
Permalink
RawbeezeitzMajor Leaguer
349 days ago
Score 1+-
Elisha Cuthbert definitely has a type.
Permalink
BigPPupMajor Leaguer
349 days ago
Score 2+-
See, but as a rugby player that's one of the things I love and respect about hockey. Let those two clean it up in the loose as we say on the pitch. Let them go at it a bit. Hockey allows fighting, so why now say well we allow this type of fighting but not that type?
Permalink
RawbeezeitzMajor Leaguer
349 days ago
Score 2+-
Avery only fights guys smaller than him. Phaneuf is 20 pounds heavier and 5 inches taller.
Permalink
Steel TownDraft Pick
349 days ago
Score 2+-
And now we have the beginings of an "instigator rule" debate. WEE HOO
Permalink
RawbeezeitzMajor Leaguer
349 days ago
Score 1+-
I was about to mention that but didn't want to have a conniption.
Permalink
Gman2797JV Squad
347 days ago
Score 0+-
BigPPup - If something happens on the ice it is one thing. But for Avery to basically have a press conference and announce that is another. When stuff gets said on the ice it gets resolved right then and there and no one knows about it. But if the entire world is aware of what one idiot says and then that idiot gets the crap beat out of him the NHL would have a SERIOUS image problem.
Permalink
Smmonroe2Varsity Captain
348 days ago
Score 0+-
I really hope the Stars put him on waivers, I hope he heads to the minors and is forced to earn the respect of his teammates back. The only problem is he may just take a break and collect his millions for not doing as much work. He is that kind of player/person.
Permalink | Reply
IbeargRed-Shirting
348 days ago
Score 0+-
i don't recall the rangers really having problems with him last year and they were much better when he played then when he didn't so i'm thinking they would sign him.
Permalink
RawbeezeitzMajor Leaguer
348 days ago
Score 0+-
The Rangers might be happy with the team they've got.
Permalink
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Categories: Opinions | Opinions by User Ibearg | December 9, 2008 | December 2008 | NHL Opinions | Hockey Opinions | Sean Avery Opinions | Gary Bettman Opinions

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