Being fortunate enough to be able to put on a jersey of an NHL team comes with some standard guidelines. One is not using your ex-girlfriend and who she's dating to publicly build excitement for a game. Many say a suspension by commissioner Bettman and the NHL is excessive for the comments Avery made. I do not.

What we say is important. How we act is important. The NHL hasn't seen many like Sean Avery in the league. He is growing beyond the sport because of his interest outside of hockey and gets more attention for what he says. Is the NHL holding him to a higher standard? I think he is the only benchmark for this behavior in the league and I think it being handled quickly and fairly. As a representative of the league the standard is high and he's being held accountable for choosing his crude words.

Being fortunate enough to be able to put on a jersey of an NHL team comes with some standard guidelines. One is not using your ex-girlfriend and who she's dating to publicly build excitement for a game. Many say a suspension by commissioner Bettman and the NHL is excessive for the comments Avery made. I do not.

What we say is important. How we act is important. The NHL hasn’t seen many like Sean Avery in the league. He is growing beyond the sport because of his interest outside of hockey and gets more attention for what he says. Is the NHL holding him to a higher standard? I think he is the only benchmark for this behavior in the league and I think it being handled quickly and fairly. As a representative of the league the standard is high and he’s being held accountable for choosing his crude words.

Avery is a good hockey player, he's feisty and energetic. He can spark his team with his emotions and he got carried away this time. He's apologized to the fans the league and his teammates.

Hockey is a tough, hard hitting and sometimes excessively violent sport, but that's on the ice and many have been suspended for that excessiveness as is the case in other major sports. As a lifelong fan of hockey I believe Avery being suspended is appropriate and as a life long player of hockey and member of the Dallas Stars and player in the NHL I believe that Avery does too.

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