Sean Avery is an idiot pt II (or is it pt 2,000,000?)
by sharks on Dec 3, 2008 8:10 PM PST
33 comments
[Editor's Note]: Sharks has his take on the Sean Avery debacle. If you missed it, Sean Avery was suspended earlier this week before Dallas' game against Calgary. I don't necessarily agree with all his points, but felt it was noteworthy enough to put on the front page.
Alright I know this topic has been hammered to death but I just had to get my two cents in. As we all know Sean Avery is a massive idiot, this is really not news. Getting suspended for being a moron isn't something we should be surprised about. What surprised me were some of the reactions I saw to this whole thing.
First off however, my opinion on the comment/suspension: The suspension in my mind was completely justified. If you disagree, personally I really don't have all that much a problem with that, and I can see where someone with the opinion that a fine would have been more appropriate is coming from 100%. However what did you expect the league to do? Sit on it's hands and hit him with a little fine later on? Doubtful that would get any kind of message across. Yeah I would have loved to see the fights or the hit where Avery got his clock cleaned, but It reminds me of how the NFL started putting restrictions on TD dances, sure you love to see them but I completely agree with the way the No Fun League handled it (I like all the TD celebrations except the ones where guys prance around like faeries...but that's another topic for another blog for another day). So for that reason I'm pretty ok with the suspension. Had they not suspended him, well I wouldn't have been all that pissed about that either. Also it's not like the NHL can keep Avery from playing against Phaneuf forever.
The video, from YouTube:
First thing I notice is how pissed Turdo was, which pretty much summed up how angry the rest of the teammates were but they just didn't want to say it to the media. That's the biggest thing here, how stupid a distraction is this is to force on your team. Believe me I find this hilarious as much as the next Sharks fan does because of the division rivalry and all, but seriously how frickin stupid is this to dump on your teammates, all because he just wanted to get under Phaneuf's skin (or more likely to gain his insecure ass some attention). Will be interesting to see what comes out of Avery's meeting with the commish, until then he could always go play with his purse collection.
This post from Yahoo's Greg Wyshynski was, I thought, a massive overreaction. He drops some nice cheap shots at the NHL and at Gary Bettman probably because thats just the easiest thing to do in order to get readers. He also says the NHL didn't do anything when Ian White commented that Ilya Kovalchuk would "get what's coming to him". This has to be the dumbest comment ever to compare to what Avery said, not only was it not sexist in any way, it wasn't even inappropriate. And the "rendering the game unwatchable" part? Well, come on, my guess is it would only have been watched by Hockey fans salivating at the chance to see either a massive on-ice brawl or Avery get his head knocked off. It was already pretty f-ing unwatchable before his comments anyway, so why such a big deal. No way it would have brought more people into the sport and no way did the NHL "drop the ball" here. If the NHL just let it go, they would have had a massive media firestorm the next day. Wow, let's hammer on the NHL for actually acting professional just like any of the other big 3 sports organizations would have....
Lost in all this was Avery's misuse of the term sloppy seconds, something I immediately noticed being the dirty minded person I am. Technically using Avery's definition anyone whose ever been with another person (pretty much 95% of the population) would be considered sloppy seconds. In fact he would fall under that too. Here's the sloppy seconds wikipedia page for all you fifth graders (that includes me), not so sure they needed the last part of the 1st sentence though. Also notice Avery is linked to the page...nice.
Another funny thing I found: Gary Bettman gives the fans his position using Yahoo Answers. You can decide if it's real or not, either way it's still pretty funny.
One last thing: Avery did apologize.
This item was created by a member of this blog's community and is not necessarily endorsed by Fear The Fin.
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Apology
Ah, who cares if this guy apologized or not. I don’t think he really means it if this keeps on happening.
by Rated-R Superstar on Dec 3, 2008 10:09 PM PST reply actions
I thought it was hilarious, in a completely douchey way, and didn’t really think a suspension was necessary. What he did was stupid, no doubt, but a suspension from the NHL was out of line. If the Stars wanted to suspend him, that’s one thing, but the NHL should stay out of this stuff.
When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized God doesn’t work that way, so I stole one and prayed for forgiveness. - Emo Philips
Neglectful father of David Quinowski
I definitely agree. As Earl Sleek points out here, this has the potential to escalate further.
Avery’s actions were ill-advised (why say something like that when your team is already in severe trouble) but it’s a team issue. Let the Stars handle it.
Fear The Fin: Where the second round is overrated.
Thought I’d swing by before going to bed, and hey I made front page! Be it for something dicey, but I guess I followed Avery in that mold.
Couple things:
First off I agree with you guys also, it should have been and stayed a team issue. The reason I agree with the way the NHL came in is because I highly doubt the Stars would have done what was necessary. One they own the guy, are short because of injuries, and are in a pretty poor position even with the high expectations they had. For those reasons they were likely to just let it go as Avery being Avery and not do anything but maybe fine him. Two they have fans who are pretty pissed already and might not risk offending them by benching someone, though that might not be an exact reason it’s still possible. Overall I doubt the Stars handle it correctly on their own.
To be clear on something, I don’t necessarily disagree your positions, I’m not sure I made that all too clear in the post, unfortunately, even though I meant to. I would have been pretty ok with watching him get his head cleaned off in the game. I hope my opinions didn’t come off as too harsh to your guys point of view.
The stuff I do disagree with is the whole idea that the NHL should have embraced this and made a spectacle out of it, something the wyshynski guy pretty much suggested. It’s not the NHL’s job to go out and parade the league like it’s a circus, it’s their job to police the league like any corporate ownership should do.
Lastly, I meant the post as a shot at Avery, not so much to debunk the people thinking the suspension was wrong, mostly because I don’t feel all that strongly about it. Either way I’m pretty happy with spurring some debate, it’s always fun to do a little back and forth on things.
I hope my opinions didn’t come off as too harsh to your guys point of view.
No, don’t worry, they didn’t.
The stuff I do disagree with is the whole idea that the NHL should have embraced this and made a spectacle out of it, something the wyshynski guy pretty much suggested.
I couldn’t agree with this more. That article he wrote was dumb on many accounts.
When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized God doesn’t work that way, so I stole one and prayed for forgiveness. - Emo Philips
Neglectful father of David Quinowski
Holy god
Wow the NHL is dumb.
When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized God doesn’t work that way, so I stole one and prayed for forgiveness. - Emo Philips
Neglectful father of David Quinowski
wow is right
up there with the most in history?? Thats pretty excessive, I might have considered 3 games my max, maybe 5. anything past that is ludicrous.
Sloppy seconds ...
Isn’t really so bad of a comment. It’s not like men (or women) haven’t said so much worse about their ex’s to get a rise. And I’m also guessing no one in the NHL, media, blogs, etc is a parent. All this attention to a negative event is only going to encourage more negative action from him. As if he needs more encouragement.
by ang6666 on Dec 4, 2008 7:00 AM PST reply actions
All I can say is that the NHL just opened a can of Worms.
If you are going to suspend somebody every time they say something inappropriate you are literally going to be suspending somebody all the time. The NHL is promoting fighting as well as big hits in saying that is just part of the game, yet when some says something very minimally inappropriate we jump up and down and go crazy? It would be a bid different, yet Avery didn’t even use vulgarity or profanity. Lastly, by suspending Avery indefinitely, this tells me that the NHL really didn’t know what to do with Avery so they just slapped that on him for no reason, and now are trying to see where the wind blows and what they will do with him.
Suspension is a joke
If the NHL wasn’t obsessed about being family entertainment this wouldn’t be an issue. Get the instigator rule out of the game and Avery can’t even go on the ice for 10 games anyway because every NHL tough guy on every team would be gunning for him anytime he tried to go on the ice. He would turtle and get his ass kicked and not even want to play hockey. Since fighting as a enforcement tool (rather than a motivational tool) has been all but taken completely out of the game you get little jackasses like Avery running around the ice and running their mouths off anytime they have a chance. If guys could actually tell Avery on the ice that his behaviour isn’t going to be tolerated he would soon quit his act. If he had said something like this in the 80’s no suspension would have been laid down and the Calgary bench would have cleared at 20:00 first period and Avery would had one bloody face.
Here's my take...
Because I know all ya’ll are wating for it.
You all know that I think Sean Avery is an idiot. That’s a given. And I see many comments here that are against the suspension. As much as I agree that a fine would have been the more appropriate action, I can understand the NHL’s decision. Here’s why:
The NHL is a business, just like any other. Therefore, Sean Avery would have to be considered an “employee” of the NHL. I know that if I made comments like that pertaining to another employee at my company, I would be immediately fired. Not put on leave, not fined, but fired. It’s harsh, but as an employee of a company, I am a representative and ambassador of said company… and my words ultimately reflect back upon the company as well.
I wouldn’t have had a problem if Avery called Phaneuf a pansy, or said the Flames were a crappy team. What bugs me is that Avery made derrogitory and sexist comments about someone not involved in the game in order to “bring excitement”. That is reprehensibe. Want to let him slide? Well, this isn’t the first time, or the worst time… he’s also been accused of using racial slurs during games and dissin’ French-Canadiens in years past. He’s a punk.
Again, I don’t think the NHL should have suspended him unless they intend on invoking a code of conduct (speech-wise) which players will have to follow. I would have been much happier with a fine from the NHL and letting the Stars handle the situation. But Bettman had to do something. We have to remember that hockey players are public figures and role models… alot of people take what they say to heart.
You can clean up speech without eliminating the physicality of the game, too. That’s like comparing apples and oranges. Physical play in the NHL is part of the game. Hate speech is not. There’s no fine line there, it’s cut and dry.
Whatever happens, Avery is going to get what’s coming to him eventually… either in the form of a release from the Stars or just getting his ass kicked on the ice. This wasn’t an easy decision to make, but I applaud Bettman for doing something.
Fear The Fin: Gloating during the season, crying during the playoffs.
For the record, I really don’t think his comments were sexist, they could be used about either sex without changing the words at all.
When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized God doesn’t work that way, so I stole one and prayed for forgiveness. - Emo Philips
Neglectful father of David Quinowski
Understood,
but still, I think you know what I was going for.
Fear The Fin: Gloating during the season, crying during the playoffs.
by TCY on Dec 4, 2008 3:20 PM PST up reply actions
Absolutely. Looking at what I wrote, I had originally also written:
That said, I understand what you’re getting at.
I guess I accidentally deleted it with some other stuff.
When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized God doesn’t work that way, so I stole one and prayed for forgiveness. - Emo Philips
Neglectful father of David Quinowski
I know you werent addressing me, but I wouldnt go that far. remember its avery we’re talking about, the guy who is unfortunately one of the better known players in the NHL. Plus this is the kind of hyped up garbage sportscenter loves to run into the ground, so it gets a little too much press. and again its avery were talking about, another reason sportscenter will give it way too much airtime.
Unfortunately
This was made a big story because the NHL decided to slap Avery with a suspension and an indefinite one at that. I really don’t believe that this would have been that big of a deal if Avery wasn’t suspended, although it is avery, if we take our avery blinders off, this is just another dude talking trash. Isn’t that what the NHL promotes at the same time with the fights?
No I’m not. I think any other player would have been fined, and I’m ok with that. Whether you like it or not, NHL players are public figures. What they say should be monitored, you don’t have to be offensive to get your point across.
Again, I wasn’t offended and I don’t agree with the suspension. I’m just saying that I understand why the NHL did what they did. I still don’t think there is any place for racism/sexism/being an ass just to be an assism anywhere in hockey. Prove you are tough on the ice, not with stupid pot shot comments. Like I said, he’d be fired if he wasn’t a pro athlete.
Fear The Fin: Gloating during the season, crying during the playoffs.
by TCY on Dec 4, 2008 5:10 PM PST up reply actions
I was speaking in generalities as he’s been accused of using racial slurs in the past. I don’t neccessarily think this was sexism, but many people have.
I think we have different definitions of what taking trash is. This isn’t a big deal because the nhl made it one, it’s a big deal because Avery made it one. He asked if a camera was present so he could insult someone who had nothing to do with the game. He called the attention to himself, and this time he’s paying the price for being an idiot. If he wanted to trash talk Phaneuf, do it to his face.
Fear The Fin: Gloating during the season, crying during the playoffs.
by TCY on Dec 4, 2008 5:23 PM PST up reply actions
Who cares about his past.
They suspended him for something that wasn’t racist, wasn’t vulgar, or in my opinion didn’t even come close. The NHL suspending him indefinitely tells me that they really didn’t know what to do at all so they just slapped that tag on him.
I would have voted for “Slamming home the easy rebound,” because, in my mind, it’s the most fucked up.
When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized God doesn’t work that way, so I stole one and prayed for forgiveness. - Emo Philips
Neglectful father of David Quinowski
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