Gary Bettman's 'Katy Perry' Comments the Latest Sign He Can't Relate to NHL Fans

Gary Bettman has been the commissioner of the National Hockey League since 1993. It's fair to say that over his two decades of service, fans have heard him say things that have upset them. Venom and vitriol are accepted collateral damage for anyone in Bettman's position.

During the 2014-15 season, however, Bettman has put his foot in his mouth so many times that he might have toenails stuck between his back teeth.

The latest mistake occurred Friday, when Bettman was asked about fans in Winnipeg chanting "Katy Perry" in the general direction of Anaheim Ducks star Corey Perry. Bettman had a chance to say something intelligent and thoughtful about the sexist chants in Games 3 and 4 of the Jets-Ducks series, but he instead chose to say something, well, tone deaf and dismissive.

With so many poorly conceived thoughts expressed by Bettman this season, it only made sense to collect them all in one place and offer closer examination.

Here are the five most tone-deaf things uttered by the NHL's commissioner in 2014-15.

The Katy Perry incident

Fans at MTS Centre in Winnipeg chanted "Katy Perry" at Corey Perry during Games 3 and 4 of the first-round series between the Ducks and Jets. This made a lot of people unhappy. It turns out that women don't feel that being a woman is a negative. Crazy, right? And if you don't think that's what happens, intentionally or not, when you chant a woman's name at a man in an attempt to shame him, it is. It's OK if you didn't know that, but you should know it and now you do.

They didn't chant "Tyler Perry" or "Perry Como" or "Perry Ellis" or "Matthew Perry," they picked a woman's name. It's worth addressing as commissioner if someone brings it up in your presence. It's a chance for learning and enlightenment.

Bettman's quote (via The Wall Street Journal): “You think that’s sexist? Taunting chants aren’t intended to be sexist. ... I see the point but I don’t think it’s overly literal. Short of gagging everyone who comes to a game I’m not sure we can stifle that."

Why it's tone deaf

One, Bettman doesn't understand how that's sexist? It's like "Sedin Sisters" or "Cindy Crosby." Maybe it's a thing you say and you've never given it any critical thought, but you should, especially if you are a league commissioner.

Two, the way you get that behavior stopped "short of gagging everyone" is by being a person of influence and power, like, say, a sports league commissioner, and pointing out the reasons why it's wrong. It's an educational thing. If no one tells you that something is wrong or why it's wrong, then they can't understand and learn from it. Going in front of the world and acting like it's no big deal isn't helping. It's hurting.

You're not going to reach everyone, but you have to try. Men and women are fans of hockey.

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

The CapGeek incident

Because of a health issue, CapGeek creator Matthew Wuest is forced to shut down his popular website that lists the contracts and salaries for every player on every team. It was beloved by fans and media alike, an invaluable tool for research. With CapGeek no longer operating, Bettman was asked if the NHL would ever consider publishing salary information on the league's website.

Bettman's quote (via Yahoo Sports): “I don’t think it’s a resource we need to provide because I’m not sure fans are as focused on what players make as they are about their performance on the ice."

Why it's tone deaf

Via Similar Web, CapGeek pulled in a shade under 1 million visitors in October 2014 before the site went offline in early January. CapGeek's Twitter page has 102,000 followers, which is more than most NHL players. By saying fans don't care about CapGeek, Bettman is both condescending and incorrect, perhaps willfully. 

Here's what it makes it especially insulting and in poor taste.

Bettman made his statement on Feb. 20; Wuest died of cancer less than a month later.

It must've been wonderful for a man in declining health to hear from the league's commissioner that no one really cared all that much about his website. A classy, intelligent move all the way.

The draft lottery incident 

The NHL conducted its draft lottery behind closed doors, which isn't really an issue. That's how the NBA does it. The lottery has witnesses and accountants and all sorts of safeguards against tampering, as evidenced by the fact the Edmonton Oilers of all teams won it this year. If the NHL was rigging its lottery, it would have made sure Connor McDavid ended up literally anywhere else.

The problem was the lack of a live show for what was easily the most anticipated draft lottery in the league's history. Fans were frothing at the idea of McDavid, and teams were tanking just to give themselves a few more lottery balls. This was clearly a big deal for everyone. 

Well, maybe not so clearly.

Bettman's quote: For the full quote, we turn to ESPN's Craig Custance, who was nice enough to transcribe it and tweet for all to see:

Why it's tone deaf

 How does a draft show or live unveiling of the drawing incentivize anyone to finish last or tank? The tanking has been done. How would having a live show incentivize a team? "Well, we weren't going to tank the season, but since there's a lottery show at the end of the year, let's throw in the towel in November."

Ten seconds of a mechanical drawing is essentially ever state's lottery show that's aired live on TV. It's also far more interesting than Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly holding up 14 cards with NHL team logos on them, especially when spots 4-14 are unchanged. Also, Daly holding up the cards is a show. This is some next-level Inception-like spinning by Bettman that, just like the movie, doesn't make any sense when you think about it.

Richard Drew/Associated Press

The points system incident

The NHL's points system is immensely flawed, as teams get points for just about everything. By handing out points for being tied after regulation and counting a win in a shootout equally with winning in regulation and overtime, teams are able to present the false image of competitiveness. It's probably not a thing that most fans sweat, but it's a thing a lot of them can't stand.

Bettman's quote, according to Custance (via ProHockeyTalk): “The media debates it a lot, but we don’t get a lot of negative feedback from fans. In fact, when you see the way the races played out and the importance of every game in the regular season, there are teams that wish they had a couple of points from October and November they would have liked to have down the stretch. The point system is working extraordinarily well.”

Why it's tone deaf

A 3-2-1 system is just more fair, and if it existed in 2014-15, the defending champion Kings would've reached the postseason instead of the Calgary Flames, according to Hockey Standings. That's probably not a thing Flames fans endorse, but the points system kept an objectively better team out of the playoffs. Fans do not like three-point games. 

The gambling incident

Sports gambling has been a hot topic this season among all the sports leagues. NBA commissioner Adam Silver is on board with it, but Bettman is, of course, not on board.

Bettman's quote, according to CNN's Rachel Nichols (via Yahoo Sports): "I think there needs some attention to be paid to what sport is going to represent to young people, should it be viewed in the competitive team oriented sense that it is now, or does it become a vehicle for betting, which may in effect change the atmosphere in the stadiums and the arenas. ... Do you want people at football and basketball games rooting for the spread or rooting for their favorite team?"

Why it's tone deaf

At the time of Bettman's statement, the NHL was already partnered with DraftKings, a daily fantasy sports site that allows people to deposit money and play fantasy sports against other people. The setup is very similar to online poker, although you are playing fantasy sports against strangers as opposed to Texas Hold 'em.

DraftKings, conveniently enough, is not considered gambling in almost every state in America, which means the NHL is not, technically, partnered with a gambling site. It is partnered with a site that allows you to place money on the performances of individual athletes, not the teams. Totally different.

Beyond that, Bettman knows that people can gamble on hockey now, right? There are websites everywhere located in other countries that accept wagers. You can bet through illegal bookmakers. You can bet with your friends. Gambling on sports is everywhere now; it's only a matter of time before it becomes legalized in other states besides Nevada.

Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

What does all this mean?

Bettman's priority is the interests of owners, not fans. This should not be news. So when you read these statements from this season, they are coming from one of two places: 1) Owners do not want gambling, or salaries revealed, or a better points system, or fans chastised for sexism, or a lottery show, and this is Bettman conveying that message, or 2) these are messages he is driving home on his own, and the messages are wildly insulting, as he pretends to have a connection with fans that simply does not exist.

Either way, Bettman is holding up fans as a shield, and it's not fair.

Will this affect Bettman's legacy or job? Of course not. You can't go a day or two without hearing about the NHL's record revenues, which is all that matters. 

But choosing not to acknowledge sexism while overseeing a league that has female fans could be the beginning of his downfall. It's one thing to lack progressive views on gambling or a points system; it's another to be dismissive when challenged on the Katy Perry incident. A simple "we frown upon that" could've been enough.

All in all, it's been a bad year for Bettman. Of course, he may see it differently, unless fans actually let him know, which based on all the above statements, isn't happening.

All statistics via NHL.com. 

Dave Lozo covers the NHL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter: @DaveLozo.