When NHL commissioner Gary Bettman suspended Sean Avery this past week for his derogatory comments about other players dating his ex-girlfriends, he apparently did so at least partially with parents in mind. "I wanted it to be clear to the fans that this isn't something that we tolerate — particularly fans with children who might have to explain to them what this statement was," Bettman explained during a conference call.
I really appreciate the commissioner stepping up and acting, recognizing that fan bases include kids who don’t understand the adult world. My kids didn’t hear Avery’s comments, so I’m clear on that one. But I could use a lot more of his or someone else’s help with this other list of questions my kids do ask:
“Daddy, why is everybody standing around on the ice while those two men punch each other?”
“Daddy, why did that man just purposely hit the batter with the ball?”
“Daddy, why do NFL cheerleaders wear such small clothes?”
“Daddy, why did everybody just run out of the dugout and beat up those guys on the pitcher’s mound?”
“Daddy, why is everybody booing that man?”
“Daddy, why doesn’t anyone hit 60 home runs anymore?”
“Daddy, why is that man doing a dance and beating his chest over the man he just tackled?”
“Daddy, can I play that sport where they punch and kick each other in the face?”
“Daddy, do those guys get to keep the goalposts after they tear them down?”
“Daddy, why are all the players jumping around at the 50-yard line pushing and shoving each other—and the game hasn’t even started?
“Daddy, what’s a reality TV show?”
My 8-year-old doesn’t think twice about comments concerning a player’s girlfriends (perhaps that they are “icky”?), but his view of sports ethics gets shaped every time he turns on a game and watches all the other tactics we’ve come to accept as “just part of the game”. I can explain ex-girlfriends well enough--but the rest? I need someone to write a That’s Just Part of the Game Ethics Manual and leave it under the tree, setting me free from the tension of trying to explain what sport in America has become.
Just don’t make me face that it was me he heard booing…