Sean Avery and the NHL

It is not often that I talk about the NHL, but, after hearing Sean Avery's comments, and moreover the reactions to his comments, I felt obligated to give my own, obviously expert, opinion. On Tuesday, the Dallas Stars Forward was suspended indefinitely after his comments regarding fellow NHL defenseman Dion Phaneuf and his current girlfriend (Avery's ex) Elisha Cuthbert. In a pre-game commentary with a camera crew, Avery, who is known for downright crazy behavior, churned out another one for the books: "Uh, I'm really happy to be back in Calgary. I love Canada. And 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. Enjoy the game tonight." Were Avery's comments insulting? Most definitely. Stupid? Let's just say that we should add him to the list along side Plaxico...but, did his rant warrant the reaction it received? Within hours of Avery's comments, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman had  suspended Avery indefinitely. Obviously, his insulting comments deserve some form of punishment, but an indefinite suspension is too strict. In fact, it is so strict that it makes NFL Commisionner Roger Goodell seem leniant. A fine, a 1-3 game suspension, or an organization-given punishment would have all been more fair. However, this issue transcends the simple issue of Avery's punishment and develops into an apparent fundamental problem in the NHL. The NFL, the NHL, MLB, NBA, and even MLS are entertainment businesses. The NFL, the NBA, and MLB are all successful entertainment businesses. The NHL, prior to the strike, was successful. But ever since, it has all but disappeared from the map. In 2002,  the NHL Stanley Cup TV viewership was just under 6 million viewers, in 2007, this number didn't even reach 2 million.  Suffice it to say, the NHL has become a colossal failure, and indefinite suspensions on entertaining players such as Avery will not help its popularity. Yes, ethics do come into question, but, as I said, the NHL is a business, and unless they dramatically alter their course of action, they are headed for extinction. So, while the NHL should not erase all rules and regulations, for the sake of its preservation, and with the dream of one day returning to national glory, the NHL must allow entertainers to be entertainers, fighters be fighters, and "drama" play itself out.