So many bloggers are wondering out loud why Sean Avery was suspended six games for his ‘sloppy seconds’ outburst in front of the media in Calgary Tuesday. According to TSN the Dallas Stars may have shut the Avery door permanently (someone internally will get backlash for even bringing him in the first place), and rightly so. Dallas bloggers want to get on with it but do suggest the suspension was too long.
Avery Suspension Just Fine
Some say the media blew it out of proportion. Others say he should have been able to play and face the players on ice. Now that suggestion wouldn’t have helped Calgary, nor would he have been beatdown 70’s hockey style. On ice retribution doesn’t occur anymore in hockey and the NHL is trying to get into the speed and finesse not the line brawls. Plus, nobody has beaten anybody out of hockey in decades so pointless to let the ‘players decide‘. Plenty of on ice insults are hurled, and Avery could have said something, and probably has, and nobody would have known.
The question is, what else does the NHL do when Avery looks for the camera, gets the attention, then says his stupid piece to the world? Yes, on the ice nobody would hear it, but hey, that’s the point, the game of hockey has a level of class. Many hockey players don’t have the same class but they choose to shut up for the sake of their job.
You cannot say certain things on camera when you’re a professional hockey player, and his suspension, and eventual expulsion perhaps from the league, is completely warranted as it gives hockey less legitimacy in the eyes of young, borderline, and new fans.
Bettman didn’t overreact , rather had to maintain the integrity of the league. Yes, addressing it caused more publicity than keeping quiet, but not addressing the remarks would have solidified the league’s front office clown reputation.
The NHL did what they had to, six games may be much, however, you can’t be sure that Dallas will react severely so a message had to be sent to all players that the integrity of the game in front of the public is paramount (no TV contracts for sloppy NHL seconds). The Dallas organization will respond, they don’t want this stain on an already cool market.
Do you agree with the suspension? Seems as most bloggers don’t agree with it, thinking on ice retribution is enough, or the comment wasn’t that harsh. I disagree with both. At least one hockey mom agrees with me.
Barry, we are definitely in the minority in the blogosphere but as far as Stars fans are concerned, the dude has got to go. I agree with the suspension on every level. He was acting as a representative of the team in the team’s locker room. He deliberately called over the media for a rehearsed statement only minutes after telling the coach and Stars PR people that he would not be making any comments to the media. (Insubordination) And, finally, his statement was vulgar and inappropriate. (Some things are still vulgar and inappropriate no matter how “accepted” they are.) The Stars fanbase (as in the ones who buy the upperbowl tickets) are largely families. Try explaining to your kid what “sloppy seconds” means. It’s a tight market as it is, don’t want to run off a large market segment.
Oops, sorry for the little rant, thanks for the link. Myra
& it looks like suspicions confirmed, Avery won’t play NHL for a while.