I find it funny that the term “sloppy seconds” needs to be censored by the AP.
Hockey player Sean Avery said: “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.”
(He was referring to Elisha Cuthbert & Dion Phaneuf. He’s been suspended indefinitely by the NHL.)
Anyway, the AP reported it as: “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 (former girlfriends). I don’t know what that’s about.”
Huh. The whole Avery thing seems weird; this is the first I’d heard of it.
I see that it plays heavily into the Wikipedia article Sloppy seconds, however.
But mostly I’m chiming in to get the AP’s back here… I consider the expression to be vulgar, at least in a not-to-be-used-in-the-press sort of way. I was pretty surprised when it was used as a syndicated Who Wants to Be a Millionaire question category this season. (Contestants now get a peek at the categories their upcoming questions will be from. This turned out to be a question about Alfred Russel Wallace, as compared to Charles Darwin, IIRC.)
I would be shocked to find the term in an AP article. Although it is a term I occasionally use with friends, it has no place in public discourse. I mean, I can’t even read the words without a visual of semen being squished out of a vagina by an incoming dick. Frankly, it’s a visual I could do without.
The point of quotes is to capture a unique perspective. A good quote is often a colorful and distinctive phrase.
The AP might as well have just paraphrased what he said, like “Avery expressed a slight degree of confusion as to why fellow players in the NHL became attracted to his former girlfriends.”
No point in quoting him if they just transform the only interesting aspect of his statement into something bland.
He was suspended for saying that? I guess the pussification of America is complete. Should I mail my balls somewhere or do they have drop boxes around town?
Yes, you can assault a man during a game, which results in a 5-minute penalty, or you can say something like that and get suspended. Makes no sense to me.
The way I see it, it isn’t the vulgarity of what he said, it was the utter disrespect and de-humanization of Elisha Cuthbert that they are taking offense at, and, in my opinion, rightly so. I think news sources reporting what he said should fall back on the old censorship standard - “slppy sconds.” Everyone knows what they’re saying without them actually saying it.
Call me crazy or old-fashioned, but I agree with the AP that “sloppy seconds” has no place in the public discourse. The NHL suspending him for it is a bit much, though…
I think the nitpick was that he used “sloppy seconds” and “the NHL” in the same sentence. He might have gotten away with it if he didn’t explicitly mention the league by name.
Let’s remember that she dumped him, so understandably he’s a little bitter. Anyways, he shouldn’t talk about her like that, but why is it censored? People will read the censored quote and think, “Hmm, that’s not so bad. I wonder why he was suspended?”
He called the cameras over during a skate around just to make this moronic taunt, so it basically amounted to him doing it as a representative of the NHL in an NHL facility during a team practice. If it had been on his own time, it would have still been offensive and sexist (does he think he was the first guy to ever sleep with Elisha Cuthbert? What a narcissistic piece of crap this guy is), but the league would have had less reason to suspend him. There’s also the fact that he’s just a dick anyway and the league would have taken any excuse.
I think it was silly for the AP to censor it that way, though.
Cuthbert is now dating Dion Phaneuf from the Calgary Flames. The interview was in Calgary, as the Flames were hosting the Dallas Stars (Avery’s team) that night.
The NHL released the statement that he was suspended for “(slight paraphrasing) conduct which reflects negatively on The National Hockey League or the game of hockey.”
IMHO, it was probably a preemptive strike to prevent an all out brawl on the ice that night. AND you can be arrested for actions on the ice…just ask the guy who slashed Donald Brashear across the head a few seasons ago.
I was surprised to learn that “sloppy seconds” is considered that vulgar. Misogynistic, admittedly, but I didn’t think it was considered unfit to print. Huh. Ignorance fought.
Either quote or don’t. I’m not a fan of editing quotes to make them more family friendly. If you can’t use the quote as is, rewrite it so it isn’t a quote at all.
Unless, the AP is submitting the story for publication in Ranger Rick, then I might agree.
Uh, am I the only person in North America who had never heard that phrase before yesterday? I could pretty immediately identify it as vulgar, but I had never heard it before.
I remember the days when Reg Dunlop would put a price on a man’s head before a game. This seems like a weak suspension.
OK, the Reg Dunlop thing was a joke, but an indefinite suspension seems a little harsh. Maybe a couple of games.
I was too, but it’s pretty crude when you think about it. I think it’s very irritating when the press identifies a comment or word as offensive and then won’t say what it is - it’s belittling to readers and denies them the ability to decide for themselves what they think. In this case it’s also really ineffective because ESPN is running the clip constantly, because Avery’s comment was crass but not so offensive they can’t air it. (It’s prurient so that’s annoying on this own.)
More than a year ago, according to Wikipedia. He’s being a douche.
This is exactly the reason for the suspension. But Avery is a dick, and personally I don’t think he’ll play another game in Dallas – perhaps the NHL – because of this and his other dickheadedness.