For anyone who hasn’t heard about the surprise suspension of Sean Avery by the NHL, this is a fascinating story:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=3740267
There is actually quite a bit of controversy over this in the sports world, ranging from those who support the decision (which actually looks like a good portion of the NHL, as well as some sports reporters) to those who think the NHL went too far.
Here’s my take on it – it’s about time we started taking a serious look at how those people who are in the spotlight represent the agencies for which they work, as well as how they behave, knowing that they are role models for many young boys and girls. While some people feel like suspending him for what may seem to them to be an innocuous comment is too drastic, I would counter with the fact that the overall behavior towards women in our society is what makes sexual assault and domestic/relationship violence so prevelant and so under-reported. Maybe if more people and sports agencies started taking a stand when comments like this are made, society would start to see that it’s not okay to objectify women, it’s not okay to make sexist remarks, and it definitely is not okay to assault or abuse women.
Way to go, NHL – I think you’re on the right track here.