During a preseason hockey game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers last night, Flyers winger Wayne Simmonds was caught on camera calling Rangers winger Sean Avery a “f*cking faggot.” The incident occurred when Avery skated past Simmonds near the Flyers bench, prompting the latter to hurl the insult. The two players had gotten in a minor scuffle earlier in the first period.
Watch video of the incident:
The epithet, while obviously unfortunate when used against anyone, is particularly jarring because of Avery’s tireless activism on behalf of LGBT causes. During the height of the New York state marriage equality debate, Avery recorded a video urging state lawmakers to pass the bill. “I treat everyone the way I expect to be treated,” Avery said in the video, “and that applies to marriage.” He even used his celebrity as a New York Ranger to lobby lawmakers on marriage equality.
ThinkProgress readers will remember Wayne Simmonds as the player who was himself discriminated against just last week. One of a small handful of minorities in the NHL, Simmonds had a banana thrown at him during a preseason game, causing a major uproar in the media. Yet the Flyer’s homophobic slur last night will likely dissipate much of the sympathy Simmonds received following his own encounter with bigotry.