SHAUN BEST/REUTERS
Sean Avery reverses his on-ice bullying approach when it comes to gay rights in sports, calling on commissioner Gary Bettman and the NHL to impose stricter penalties and fines for the use of gay slurs by players.
Sean Avery figures there is one matter that hasn?t been addressed at the NHL labor negotiations: gay slurs by players.
?He?s the worst,? Avery said of Gary Bettman, on this issue. ?My belief is the responsibility lies with the leagues, the way they discipline players, the position they take and use it in every-day incidents. One guy?ll get slapped with a fine, the next day nothing will happen. There needs to be consistency.?
Avery can attest firsthand to the erratic standards employed by the NHL. In 2010, James Wisniewski was suspended for his use of a lewd, anti-gay gesture toward Avery. But a year later, Bettman did not punish Wayne Simmonds after Avery reported to the league that Simmonds had dropped the homophobic ?F? bomb.
?They said there wasn?t sufficient evidence, but it?s on YouTube as clear as day,? Avery said.
Avery has been an unexpected advocate for gay rights in recent years, a board member of Athlete Ally, a group of straight athletes devoted to eradicating homophobia in sports. While the former Ranger player was once suspended himself for using derogatory language toward a woman, nobody can now question his dedication to this issue. Avery has lent his backing to the musical, ?Bare,? playing at New World Stages, which features the story of a gay jock in a bullying society. Avery even traveled to Albany to lobby Republican state officials on gay marriage rights.
?Maybe it?s because when I was such a bully when I had my uniform on, that when I took it off I felt the need to stand up against the bully,? Avery said.
The hockey player appeared at a Bank of America-sponsored panel this week about bullying and sports, that included Hudson Taylor, a Columbia wrestling coach and the founder of Athlete Ally; and the parents of Tyler Clementi, the Rutgers student who committed suicide after his roommate used a webcam to record Clementi kissing another man.
More than 20 straight athletes and ex-athletes now have spoken up to support Athlete Ally, not all of them known as politically correct in the past. Charles Barkley, Michael Strahan, Michael Irvin and Cristiano Ronaldo are among the backers. Organizers are convinced that when high-profile athletes speak out, they change the culture and make it easier for gays to find open acceptance.
Avery also expressed concern about the heckling and bullying in cyberspace.
?I get called a f-- every day on the internet,? he said. ?You have to police it somehow.?
It?s clear the mainstream media doesn?t always take the issue seriously. When Wisniewski was suspended two games for his lewd gesture toward Avery, Yahoo.com ran the headline, ?Wisniewski swallows 2-game suspension??
Brian Ellner, a senior strategist for the Human Rights Campaign in New York, said he would like to see the culture changed at arenas and ballparks, with open marketing to gay fans.
?I grew up a Met fan, and I?ve seen them hold Italian nights and Mexican nights,? Ellner said. ?But has there ever been an LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) Night at Shea or anywhere else??
The times may be changing, but our professional sports leagues are always the last to catch up, or take such a risk.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nydnrss/home/~3/r5Xu36owa98/story01.htm
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