[BRIEF NOTE] On the import of Sean Avery's support for same-sex marriage

[rfmcdonald]

Pickering-born New York Ranger Sean Avery recently attracted a lot of attention when he recorded a clip supporting the New York Campaign for Marriage Equality's push for same-sex marriage in new York State. From Towleroad:

"Crossing the Bloor Viaduct, facing south" (Watch on YouTube)

A Toronto-based hockey agency made the mistake of criticizing Avery's move on Twitter, and, well the expected wackiness ensued.

The National Hockey League has been making considerable progress towards being gay-friendly. Although there are no queer out hockey players yet, the support given to Brendan Burke--the out gay son of Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke--before his death does seem to augur well. In the Toronto Star, Cathal Kelly suggests

When gay rights became part of the hockey discussion after the coming out of Leafs GM Brian Burke’s son, Brendan, many supportive notes were sounded by players. They may have been timid at times and framed as a stand against prejudice, rather than support for homosexuality, but it was a good start.

When Brendan Burke died in a car accident, the tragedy lent strength to those voices. None were as unequivocal as Avery’s.

He volunteered to fly anywhere in North America to be at the side of any player who wished to reveal his homosexuality to his teammates. It was a canny as well as open-hearted suggestion. Avery redefined the issue in terms any locker room can understand — Us vs. Them. The “them” in this case being the cause of bigotry.

Avery’s quirks of personality and many professional controversies make him outstandingly — perhaps uniquely — qualified as a spokesperson.

On the ice, he’s a goon and, often, a buffoon. His silly and strangely brilliant stick-waving trick in front of Martin Brodeur in the ’08 playoffs shows that Avery sees hockey through his own skewed lens. He’s a savant in reverse, disassembling the game and its traditions.

But he’s been criticized so often, it no longer fazes him. He appears to enjoy it. In some ways, his whole hockey career has been training to lead an outsider movement.

Avery also understands something most athletes never get hold of — that the game is about theatre.

His conspicuous role has always been the enlightened thug, or the dandy bruiser. He interned at Vogue. He claims to have played with dolls as a child. He’s fully embraced the hetero opportunities the athletic life provides, trailing a string of actress and model girlfriends. When he chooses to act the boor — as with his “sloppy seconds” comment directed at Dion Phaneuf — it comes off as totally calculated. If Avery is an idiot, he’s the smartest one in hockey.

Here’s the proof: his principled stand on gay rights. Leave the issue of marriage out of it for a moment. It’s still taboo to talk about being gay in a clubhouse, but out in the real world we’ve all agreed that homosexuality isn’t a big deal any more.

By moving from supportive thought to real action, Avery claims the high ground for himself in one of the last places where there’s any ground to claim at all.

Then someone went and laid some down for him. Burlington hockey agent Todd Reynolds, who helps rep guys like Predators forward Mike Fisher, did Avery the favour of taking a swipe at him on Twitter. In the hours after his post calling Avery’s position vis a vis marriage “very sad” and “wrong,” Reynolds was the one being raked online and forced to defend himself on radio. The territory in this culture war is changing hands quickly.

All this, Kelly argues, will help make Avery a hockey player who'll be remembered well into the future. While I'm not a fan of Avery's style, I have to agree with Kelly that he's a memorable player--I know who the guy is, even--and an interesting personality. Said personalities tend to be memorable for a long wile.