It’s just boys being boys, but is it really? Monday September 26th the New York Rangers met the Philadelphia Flyers in a classic NHL rival matchup. Games between these two teams are always downright rough, but this first meeting of the pre-season seemed to have a bit more dirt than usual. I was aware only a short time into the game that Philly wasn’t here for a friendly rival pre-season game, when an early boarding call was made against them. Tom Sestito racked up 20 minutes in penalties for taking a boarding penalty for his dirty hit from behind on Andre Deveaux, after which a brawl ensued. While hockey is known to be a bloody sport the league has been cracking down on high hits, and hits where the man is helpless, or without the puck, due to the massive head injuries that have plagued the league, and ended the careers of many players in the last few years.
During the first scuffle of the game, Sean Avery of the Rangers, and a huge supporter of the LGBT community, had it out on the ice with Wayne Simmonds of the Flyers. Trading punches and barbs at one another. During this exchange, it is said by Avery that Simmonds called him a “fucking faggot.” Avery took some heat this past year for posting a pro same sex marriage video in his Ranger’s jersey, to support the same sex marriage law that was up in New York. While the interaction was caught on video and clearly Simmonds can be seen mouthing the words, but because there was no audio, the NHL has declined to take action against Simmonds for what they call “lack of proof”.
Someone who has since come out against this decision in the league is the Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke, father of the late Brendan Burke, a pioneer for acceptance of gays in hockey. Brian a gay man himself was a sounding board for all the things in hockey that were wrong, as far as policies and procedures that weren’t in place to protect players should they choose to come out. After Brendan’s death in a car accident his father Brian is carrying on his legacy. As a fan who has attended at least ten Ranger games in my life, I can attest to the fact that the use of the word faggot is thrown around quite a bit in the stands and the sport itself isn’t exactly a safe haven for gays, but it’s never been a threatening one either. People will mostly chalk this up to boys being boys, heat of the moment competition mentality, but other professional sport leagues have adopted rules and policies recently to protect LGBT players and fans from discrimination and hate speech. A perfect example of this is the fine of $100,000 against NBA player Kobe Bryant after his use of a gay slur on the basketball court during a game. Even the NFL has recently jumped on board and adopted new rules for the conduct of its players regarding inclusion and acceptance.
Are we seeing a softer side of professional sports? In some cases yes and unfortunately in the incident of Sean Avery, it seems the NHL just hasn’t caught up yet with what most of us already know, its 2011 and I’m quite sure there are a lot of gay hockey players. Just as you would protect a black hockey player from discrimination, a gay player deserves the same safety and respect afforded all other players, both on the ice and in the locker room. Sean Avery is known to be a bit of an instigator and has gotten under the skin of many a normally calm player, but does that warrant the use of such a derogatory term? Hell no! As a huge New York Rangers fan and hockey in general, I was very offended and upset over what happened both between Sean Avery and Wayne Simmonds, and the way many of the Philadelphia Flyers conducted themselves on the ice the other night. It was a disgrace to the game and its one that has to be addressed. If we ever want to move forward and be progressive in a sport that prides itself on loyalty, teamwork and discipline then we need to address the pink elephant in the room.
For more information on this incident CLICK HERE and you can read more about Brian Burke’s comments HERE.
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