Same-Sex Marriage: Star Pro Hockey Player First In NY To Offer Support
The first New York professional sports team athlete to publicly support same-sex marriage is the Rangers’ Sean Avery. The thirty-one year old New Yorker has joined with thirty-plus other New York celebrities in making videos, “New Yorkers For Marriage Equality,” a project of the Human Rights Campaign. Other famous names that have recorded videos for the campaign include New York mayor Mike Bloomberg, former president Bill Clinton, former first daughter Barbara Bush, and actress Julianne Moore. (See Julianne Moore’s video here.)
“Committed couples should be able to marry the person they love. Join me in supporting marriage equality,” says Avery in the video, adding, “I’m Sean Avery, and I’m a New Yorker for marriage equality,†says the Canadian born hockey star. “I treat everyone the way I expect to be treated, and that applies to marriage.â€
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“I certainly have been surrounded by the gay community. And living in New York and when you live in L.A., you certainly have a lot of gay friends.â€
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The New York Times writes, “That may be a bit of an inside joke. Avery has twice led the N.H.L. in penalty minutes and is known as one of the league’s most unpopular antagonists.”
Avery is “one of only a few active athletes in American team sports to voice support for gay rights, and is believed to be the first in New York to publicly advocate for same-sex marriage,” according to the Times. “No active male player in a major American team sport has declared his homosexuality, and homosexual slurs remain in use to insult opponents and officials.”
“Avery joins a short list of active athletes showing support of gay rights. Among them, Brendon Ayanbadejo, a linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens, recorded a video statement for Equality Maryland earlier this year.
WATCH: NBA Stars Grant Hill and Jared Dudley: Using Anti-Gay Slurs “Not Coolâ€
“Grant Hill and Jared Dudley of the N.B.A.’s Phoenix Suns recently recorded a public-service announcement for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network to combat antigay language in sports,” the Times writes, noting Kobe Bryant’s recent anti-gay slur that cost him $100,000 in an NBA fine.
READ: “Kobe Bryant: The Real Outrage Isn’t That He Said ‘Fag’“
“Avery said such slurs remain in wide use in hockey, too. He suspects they may be used against him even more now that he is speaking out on behalf of same-sex marriage.
“People have been calling me names for 10 years just because I like to wear nice suits,†he said. “It’s going to take a lot to get me upset or to get under my skin. I’m O.K.â€
In a phone interview, Avery tells the Times, “The places I’ve played and lived the longest have been in West Hollywood, Calif., when I played for the L.A. Kings, and when I moved to New York, I lived in Chelsea for the first four years.”
“I certainly have been surrounded by the gay community. And living in New York and when you live in L.A., you certainly have a lot of gay friends.â€
https://youtube.com/watch?v=qGGH3M9NKBI%3Ffs%3D1%26hl%3Den_US

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