New York Rangers General Manager Glen Sather has issued a complaint against the Washington Capitals for harassment their fans have levied on his team. One of the complaints sounded like a stand against homophobia. From his letter:
According to Rangers trainer Jim Ramsay, one patron was screaming at the team, in graphic language, about whether Dan Girardi [right] and Marc Staal have a sexual relationship.
GLSEN founder and hockey player and advocate Kevin Jennings hit the nail on the head in an email chain I was a part of this morning:
New York Rangers General Manager Glen Sather has issued a complaint against the Washington Capitals for harassment their fans have levied on his team. One of the complaints sounded like a stand against homophobia. From his letter:
According to Rangers trainer Jim Ramsay, one patron was screaming at the team, in graphic language, about whether Dan Girardi [right] and Marc Staal have a sexual relationship.
GLSEN founder and hockey player and advocate Kevin Jennings hit the nail on the head in an email chain I was a part of this morning:
This is lame: is he saying they ARE in a relationship and he doesn’t like them being called names (I doubt it) or is he saying how dare you say such an awful thing about my players (which is what I think he’s saying, which is — if you think about — pretty homophobic, because it says calling someone gay is, by definition, insulting)?
I'm going with the latter part, myself. Calling someone gay is slander in the eyes of still too many of these big macho guys. And there's no way the GM is announcing the wedding plans of two of his players.
Also, for the Rangers, who allow chants of "Ho-Mo Lar-Ry" during their games to cry about the homophobia of another team's fans is a little ridiculous: They don't even have their own fans under control. My guess is the homophobia lies with the Rangers here (and the Capitals fan who screamed it, of course).
Still, you can understand why the Rangers are REALLY upset. They led the Capitals, 3-1, in the series before giving up three straight games to the Capitals and being knocked out of the playoffs.
Hat tip to Jeff Kagan.
