The Rangers Agitator Sean Avery Speaks Out for Gay Rights
Michael Nagle for The New York TimesThe Rangers agitator Sean Avery signing autographs for fans
outside MSG
outside MSG
By JOHN BRANCH
Since September, advocates for same-sex marriage in New York have released 30-second videos of celebrities endorsing their cause. More than 30 have taken part, including the actors Julianne Moore andSam Waterston, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the former first daughter Barbara Bush. On Thursday, former President Bill Clintonreleased a written statement of support, too.
Until now, supporters have come mostly from the worlds of politics, entertainment, theater and fashion. One type of New York celebrity was conspicuously absent: the athlete.
Enter Rangers forward Sean Avery.
He recently recorded a video, becoming 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. 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, a 31-year-old from Pickering, Ontario, has played nine seasons in the N.H.L. Known as a fashion-conscious, on-ice agitator, he has never been afraid of what others think of him.
“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,” Avery said in a phone interview. “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.”
Avery, who lives in the SoHo section of Manhattan and keeps a home in Los Angeles, said some of those friends had wanted to marry, and he saw no reason they should not.
“I’m certainly open to it,” he said. “Maybe I can help, and I jumped at this opportunity.”
The videos are part of the New Yorkers for Marriage Equality campaign, organized by the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay-rights organization. In December 2009, New York lawmakers voted against legalizing gay marriage, but polls show that a majority of people now support it.
“Sean Avery is a true leader on the ice and off,” said Brian Ellner, who oversees the same-sex marriage campaign. “His commitment as the first New York professional athlete to campaign for marriage equality is an important step as we grow the majority of New Yorkers who already want all loving and committed New York couples to have the same rights.”
Avery’s 30-second video opens with a close-up of him looking into the camera.
“I’m Sean Avery, and I’m a New Yorker for marriage equality,” he says. “I treat everyone the way I expect to be treated, and that applies to marriage.”
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 shown in photographs wearing his Rangers uniform as music swells and words appear on the screen.
“New Yorkers support full marriage equality,” they read. “Do you?”
Avery ends the video by saying, “Committed couples should be able to marry the person they love. Join me in supporting marriage equality.”
Avery has long been viewed as someone unafraid to set off on his own. In the past few years, he has worked as an intern at Vogue magazine and been voted “most hated” player in the N.H.L. In the 2008 playoffs, he gained notoriety for waving his arms and stick in the face of Devils goalie Martin Brodeur. That tactic, which made hockey purists cringe, was quickly banned by the league.
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 statementfor Equality Maryland earlier this year.
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. It is expected to be broadcast during the conference finals. In April, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant used a slur against an official and was fined $100,000 by the league.
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.”
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