Sean Avery teamed up with the Human Rights Campaign this weekend to publicize his support for marriage equality - the ability for gays to get married like everyone else. Media and blogs alike have picked up the story with the same basic slant: 'Sean Avery is known for being a scumbag but hey, look, he is doing something nice.'
Avery's reputation, as many True Blue Ranger fans will attest to, is completely unjust. There is no denying that he is a pest of the highest magnitude on the ice - a waterbug that nips and annoys the opponent to distraction. That's his job, that's what he does and - when unshackled by his coach - he does it pretty damn well.
Avery's on-ice obnoxiousness led to a harsh welcome to Dallas. The locker room leaders of the Stars - Turco, Modano and Morrow - all publicly spoke out against his signing and created an untenable environment. Avery and Steve Ott teamed up to create a two-punch of pestiferous play but it was Avery that was consistently called on the carpet. With Modano, Morrow and Turco all struggling through their season, Avery tried to spark the team and get a little animosity going for what would be a lifeless affair against the Flames, an almost certain loss for the Stars. The infamous 'Sloppy Seconds' interview was all Avery's detractors needed to get him off the ice. The PC Police went wild and Avery was banished to counseling. Now, most grown adults - and even most 12 year old girls Mr. Bettman - were hardly offended by Avery's words but he paid his penance just the same. He did it quietly, he did not voice his dissent over the utter absurdity of the entire situation.
Afterwards Sather set up Avery's move back to New York and the player returned to his old stomping grounds supposedly a changed man. And yet Avery went back to doing the same kind of things he did during his first stint in New York: charity work and fan interaction. His initial tenure saw him help out Ice Hockey In Harlem and do the unthinkable - sit with the diehards to watch a game. Since Avery has been back he continues to interact with fans and has upped his charity work. He went on Jimmie Fallon to promote Career Gear, an organization that gives suits so people can go to job interviews. He has regularly joined his teammates in supporting the Garden of Dreams (remember this?). He took his clothes off for skin cancer.
And now Avery is back to advocating for gay rights. The same kind of dubiousness that greeted his comments back in February - that he would stand beside any player who wanted to come out of the closet - has also returned with his support of gay marriage.
As many of us Avery fans have said: he has the reputation that Matt Cooke deserves, and sadly that reputation has unjustly carried off-ice for years. It is about time that that is changed. Despise the player all you like - and we hope you do, because that means he is doing his job - but don't slur the person. What have you done for society lately?
10 comments:
Right on! I absolutely can't stand it when Avery gets compared to Cooke or Carcillo. Not only is he not like them on the ice, this shows he's better off the ice as well. You'd be hard pressed to find an athlete in any pro sport around the world willing to make a brave stand like this because of all the homophobia surrounding the game. Good for Avery, I might have to re-evaluate my plans to make Dubinsky my next jersey purchase.
Well said Scotty. Sean is a great guy with a big heart off the ice, whether people realize it or not. He comes from a great family and will always do the right thing for his community.
Great post. Thank you Sean Avery for standing up for what's right
I'm not an advocate of gay marriage rights, but I don't have any hostility towards those who think differently than I do. That's what America is all about, right?
That being said, I hate, hate, HATE when entertainers (and yes that includes athletes) throw their hat in a political ring of any sort.
First, if any of them have the mental acuity to understand the nuances of those affairs, they should hang up the skates or the microphone and run for office. Second, in Sean's case, maybe if he was more focused on his game and not fashion, activism, owning a bar, etc, we would have seen a better showing from him this year. His game was very good at times, but for long stretches, he was fairly invisible. Spend some time trying to some the problem of playing your game in a league where the refs, other players, and even your coach consider you a menace, rather than trying to solve the world's problems.
Seriously, I think it's great that they want to use their celebrity to support things they believe in. But, i think it's better for the sport and for the fans if they save it for the voting booth or the check book. There's plenty of time for that when you retire.
@Pete--Maturity as a person means you realize there's more to life than your own opinions and desires and actions. Avery should be commended for his stance, as it is pretty much the bravest thing a pro athlete can do within the confines of his profession these days.
To suggest that entertainers and athletes cannot publicly air their political opinions is ridiculous; it's a mild form of censorship to suggest such a thing. Celebrities may have more money and a fancier lifestyle than regular joes like us, but that does not mean they do not participate in the same society as us. As such they have a right to express their opinions on any subject....you know, because it's a free country we live in here and all that.
To applaud the thoughtless and self-obsessed lifestyle of the average athlete in favor of socially committed individuals like Avery, Arthur Ashe, or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is lame. Should the Mannings not have helped to distribute supplies to Hurricane Katrina victims because they didn't understand meteorology? More athletes need to speak up in our society--they experience some of the highest levels of social mobility any citizen can expect in a modern capitalist country, and therefore have seen life at many different levels....to ask anyone to defer their social activism until they've retired is pretty selfish, athletes are human beings too, despite their wealth and fame. Too bad you can't lecture Roberto Clemente about what a waste his death was, since he lost his life while trying to help people as well......
Good post and good points. He's come a long way since he was calling out "visor-wearing French guys".
I hate things that make me not hate Sean Avery. Despite how much of an ass he can be on and off the ice, he does seem to be a genuinely good person. Damn it.
I'm not sure I've been prouder to be a ranger fan or own a number 16 avery jersey than after i saw his psa his weekend
I wonder how many gay slurs he uses against his opponents during games? If none than good for him for taking a stand. If he uses them then shame on him for being a hypocrite.
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