Six games doesn't fit the crime

Bruce Arthur, National Post

Of all the inarguable contentions in hockey, it's hard to beat the fact that Sean Avery is a jackass. He is a jerk. He is among the most obnoxious, unlikeable, and unappealing people to ever spend significant time in New York City, and that's saying something.

But six games and anger management counselling for an admittedly off-colour remark? Really?

Look, Avery needed a slap. His own team sounds like it's ready to feed him to the Zamboni, and the rest of the league would probably compete for a spot in the driver's seat. And his show in Calgary wasn't pretty.

"I am really happy to be back in Calgary, I love Canada," said the Dallas Stats pest, after making sure TSN cameras were rolling. "I just want to comment on how it's become like a common thing in the NHL for guys to fall in love with my sloppy seconds. I don't know what that's about. Enjoy the game tonight."

So the NHL's wheel of suspension landed on six games and some counselling, which will surely turn Avery's attitude around.

It's too much. One problem with the selling of hockey in the United States is that there isn't an awful lot of room for big personalities that don't toe the line. Ron Artest of the NBA's Houston Rockets says all kinds of crazy things, as does Miami Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter. And while they may not reflect so well on the leagues involved, the method of discipline is a fine, not a suspension. As for onice punishment, let Avery face Dion Phaneuf after making fun of his girlfriend. As for suspensions, maybe sort out the headshots issue first, huh?

A confession: I'm one of the few who actually thought Avery's antics in distracting New Jersey's Martin Brodeur during the playoffs last season -- the whole face-the-goalie, hand-and-stick-up-in-his-face routine -- was genuinely innovative, and not worthy of a rule banning the practice. You want Avery out of Brodeur's face? Move the guy out from in front of your goaltender. Avery played within the rules until the NHL saw fit to change them.

Sean Avery isn't crazy. He craves attention, and he's not afraid to say anything, and do almost anything, to get it. But that's the NHL for you. Wouldn't want things to get too interesting out there.

Six games is a good start

George Johnson, Calgary Herald

Six games is about right. The outraged citizens yowling for a season-long ban, or a public flogging, or 30 years in Fulsom without parole, take a deep breath or pop a Valium. Sean Avery didn't put anyone in the hospital by launching them into the boards headfirst from behind. He didn't deck a coach or knock over a liquor store. He's not responsible for anyone's potential loss of employment or income (except, significantly, his own).

On the flip side, those athlete apologists firing off e-mails defending Avery's "sloppy seconds" remark as standard fare, much ado about nothing, are even more misguided. Maybe as much in need of professional help as Avery himself.

Pretty sad statement, if our society has been so de-sensitized by crudeness that such a lack of respect for the individual can be so cavalierly pardoned (Imagine if the comment were publicly attributed to your own daughter?)

The argument that because other morons in other sports or public forums say as bad or worse, and get away with it, somehow justifies Avery's conduct is a sad one, indeed.

No, he didn't do anything heinous. But he did enough to warrant significant censure.

So, at six games, the compromise seems fair. Hard, but not harsh.

Sean Avery is not evil incarnate. Just slightly dim, massively immature and so obviously impressed by his own wealth and status that he felt he could say anything and get away with it.

He works in a business that's dominated by juvenile hijinks, but there are limits when TV cameras and tape-recorders are rolling.

The pre-meditated arrogance, that school boy snickering that accompanied his remark directed at Flames defenceman Dion Phaneuf's relationship with Avery's ex, Calgary-born actress Elisha Cuthbert, smacked of a perceived immunity.

The man is being paid $3.8 million to act like a professional, not a sniggering teenager on testosterone overload.

His delusion that celebrity equals immunity, hopefully, has been ripped to shreds over the past 72 hours.

What he said is inexcusable. A personal slur of the rankest kind. This is someone who obviously has some serious personal issues to deal with.

Tellingly, the person most affected by Avery's utter lack of class is Avery himself. He's the one who stands to lose the most.

No one within the game is backing him.

Sean Avery's by himself now.

Far more interesting than the six-game ban will be the next step taken by the Stars. It seems abundantly clear his teammates don't want him anywhere near that locker-room, ever again.

He's been asking for trouble for a long time now.

On Tuesday, with one smirk and one line, Sean Avery finally found it.

No one, it seems, is going to reach out to grab his hand. And that's how it should be.

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Click here for a gallery of the NHL's most hated men.