Sean Avery joins Athlete Ally board

News from Athlete Ally:

Athlete Ally, a non-profit organization dedicated to challenging homophobia in sports, is pleased to announce that Sean Avery has joined the board of directors. Avery, a former NHL player and New York Ranger, will help further the mission of Athlete Ally by encouraging more straight athletes to start speaking out against homophobia in athletics.

“With few athletes feeling comfortable or safe enough to come out, a professional athlete ally like Sean Avery can make all the difference,” said Hudson Taylor, Athlete Ally Founder and Executive Director. “We look forward to working with Sean to make sport a space for everyone and empowering athletes everywhere to start using their voice as athlete allies.”


Keep reading HERE.

New York magazine interviews gay sport pioneer Jeff Kagan, director of NYC Gay Hockey Association

From New York magazine:

Jeff Kagan, Director of the New York City Gay Hockey Association, on Sean Avery and the Culture of the Sport

Sean Avery recently spoke out in favor of same-sex marriage, recording this video for New Yorkers for Marriage Equality. (It's believed that Avery is the first New York athlete to publicly support same-sex marriage.) In the days that followed, Avery's endorsement remained in the news, first because of an NHL agent, Todd Reynolds, who stated his opposition to it, and later because of the response to Reynolds's comments. The Sports Section spoke with Jeff Kagan, the director and co-founder of the New York City Gay Hockey Association, about Avery, Brian Burke, and culture of the sport.

What was your initial reaction when you saw the Sean Avery video?
I was blown away. I really was so excited to see that one of the New York Rangers was actually standing up for a cause that no one's ever stood up for in professional sports, as far as I know. [Ed. Note: at least one other athlete has, in a different state.] And I just think it's so important, because all the Rangers are role models and to have one of them stand up and fight for something that is just such an important thing for civil rights, I think that it's a wonderful thing that he's doing.

Do you think it matters that it's Sean Avery, someone who's pretty popular in New York, but is not particularly well liked by a lot of other teams' fans? Or does something like this transcend hockey?
I think it transcends hockey, and I think it's important that he's a well-known Ranger. It's better that it's him, and not somebody that no one's ever heard of. I think celebrity does add a lot of clout to an issue, and when a celebrity speaks up for something, people listen. I'm not sure why sometimes, but they do. So I think that it was good that it was Sean Avery. I mean, he's not really liked in some parts of the country; in some places in New York he's not very well liked. But it's still important that he's speaking out for something that's important to other people.

Do you think the culture of hockey is any more or less homophobic compared to other professional team sports?
It's hard to say. There's a lot of homophobia in all professional sports, which is why you don't see any of the professional athletes come out when they're still playing. I think they're the ones that see it more than we do, and that's probably what limits them from saying anything until they retire and they feel safer about doing it. I don't know that hockey has more of it, though I do know that hockey is probably one of the tougher sports. I mean, hockey and football are the two big impact sports. I think that's a big part of it, the physical stuff.

Keep reading HERE.

Sean Avery receives management's support for stand on marriage equality

From the New York Post:

Hockey honchos have Avery's back

By LARRY BROOKS

Last Updated: 6:37 AM, May 15, 2011

Posted: 2:56 AM, May 15, 2011

It should have been no surprise that Sean Avery had the courage of his convictions to endorse legalization of same-sex marriage in New York in the video he recorded for New Yorkers for Marriage Equality.

"No one who knows me was the least bit surprised," Avery said during a phone conversation on Friday. "My friends, the people who I spend time with, I'm honest with them. They know what's up.

"They know my beliefs."

It's been an interesting week for Avery, who has received near universal public support, much of it accompanied by the predictable qualifier somewhere along the lines of, "I can't believe I agree with Sean Avery on anything, but. . . ."

"The focus shouldn't be on me, it should be on the issue of equal rights, but I kind of think it's funny that people feel the need to say that," Avery said. "But in the end it really doesn't matter.

"I'm certainly not looking for praise from the hockey world."

Though neither the Garden nor the Rangers have issued public statements regarding Avery's participation in the campaign that is being conducted under the auspices of the Human Rights Campaign, both organizations gave him permission to appear in photographs wearing the team uniform within the video.

As well, Avery said he's gratified to have received notes of support from Garden chairman Jim Dolan and president of MSG Sports Scott O'Neil as well as a phone call from Rangers president and GM Glen Sather.

"I had talked with Marriage Equality about doing this maybe a month or so earlier, but I got a little gun-shy with crunch time coming," Avery said. "I didn't want any backlash coming at me when it might have been a distraction for the team, but once the season ended, we got right on it.

"Certainly nobody at the Garden or with the Rangers tried to discourage me."

Keep reading HERE.

Reaction to Sean Avery video in support of marriage equality

As we noted a few days ago, NHL player Sean Avery produced a video in support of HRC's New Yorkers for Marriage Equality campaign.

A major agency representing NHL players (Andrew Brunette, Cody McCormick, Chris Neil, Mike Fisher and Carlo Colaiacovo, according to Towleroad) has tweeted in opposition to this action on the part of Avery.

Outsports notes that "Uptown Sports is a Canada-based sports management company representing various professional hockey players. Their motto is: 'Commitment. Dedication. Integrity. The Way We do Business'.”

According to Towleroad, the tweets (including "Very sad to read Sean Avery's misguided support of same-gender 'marriage'. Legal or not, it will always be wrong.") are presumed to be from Todd Reynolds, the firm's Vice President and son of the owner, who is in charge of the agency's Twitter feed.

In a comment on the Outsports post, Geoff A notes: "The biggest NHL’er on twitter, Paul Bissonette, tweeted the following to over 80,000 followers: 'I agree with Sean Avery and his comments on the same sex marriage issue @NortonSports. If 2 people are happy together let them be happy'.”

In its follow-up coverage, Outsports notes the support for Avery from several other agents:

Hockey professionals are speaking out quickly and clearly against anti-gay comments made by Uptown Sports management. Agent Scott Norton, who helped bring the Stanley Cup to last year’s gay pride in Chicago, told Outsports:

I think they are very small minded comments. The world has changed, and people need to change also. Everyone in the world has rights, and one of the main rights is to have the ability to love and care for whomever you want, no matter race, religion or sexual orientation.

Agent Andrew Warren told Outsports he is a big supporter and a good friend of Patrick Burke:

I absolutely would support any client, friend, or family member who came out. I believe that public support of gay rights in sports will make it easier for those in the world of sports that may want to come out able to do so without apprehension or fear. As a friend of Patrick’s, I supported and respected his brother Brendan for leaving an important mark on this issue and I hope more of us in this field continue to develop an environment that is welcoming to everyone.

NHL agent Alec Schall said on Twitter he would welcome a gay client.