Sean Avery Adds To The George Carlin List Of Words You Can Never Say On TV

The message we're getting is that violence on TV and in the movies is good, but sex is bad.

Sean Avery was celebrated for being an agitator, instigator, and trash talking bad boy who led the league in penalties—he was vilified for making a sexual allusion on television.

Hockey Fans across North America know the name Sean Avery because he is a "presence" on the ice, always throwing a big check, dropping the gloves, or talking trash. He never goes unnoticed. Avery had an impressive stint with the New York Rangers, recording 55 points in 86 games with over 200 penalty minutes, and leading the Rangers past the Devils, getting seven points in eight playoff games and having a new rule named after him for unsportsmanlike conduct.

"Avery Rules!" tee-shirts are for sale online.

He's a hockey player who is known by millions who are not hockey fans for dating Hollywood TV and movie star Elisha Cuthbert, Playboy and Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Rachel Hunter, and Calvin Klein's ex, Kitty.

Maxim magazine described him as No. 1 in "Hollywood hookups"; People magazine put him in a special issue of The Sexiest Man Alive; he had 23 goals and 22 mentions on the New York Post's gossipy Page Six; he spent the summer in Vogue as an intern, winding up as guest editor of Men's Vogue, with his journal published as an article that might inspire a movie by New Line Cinema.

What did the NHL punish Avery for?

Wives, girlfriends, and sexual orientation are popular topics for trash talk, as everyone saw in the Paul Newman hockey movie called Slapshot.

But the rules of trash talk dictate that the crass comments stay on the ice, for players' ears only.

So in the hockey world, Sean Avery's sin isn't what he said. It's where he said it—in front of TV cameras.

Movies in North America are rated the same way. The message is that violence is good but sex is bad...apparently.

Sean Avery is the George Carlin of hockey. The late great American comedian George Carlin had a very famous routine called The Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television. There are 400,000 words in the English language, Carlin said, and there are seven of them that you can't say on television.

Avery added an expression to that list, last December in Calgary, and was suspended indefinitely, not invited back by his hockey team, and vilified by hockey pundits throughout North America.

At the same time, the NHL welcomed back Claude Lemieux, famous for biting Jim Peplinski of the Calgary Flames, hitting Ken Draper so violently he needed reconstructive facial surgery, and causing enough concussive mayhem in the NHL to earn the reputation as the number one villain in hockey, not to mention the nickname Pepe Lemieux.

Some suggest Avery's suspension was not just for the incident before the Calgary Flames game but punishment for many things he has said during his decade in the NHL.
His list of things you can't say on television is not as funny as Carlin's.

Here's how he got into trouble with the NHL over the years.

1. During a pre-season contest, Kings centre Jeremy Roenick suffered a concussion following a hit by Phoenix Coyotes defenceman Denis Gauthier. In defending Roenick, Avery takes a shot at Gauthier by telling reporters, "it was typical of most French guys in our league with a visor on, running around and playing tough and not back anything up."

2. He had a confrontation with an L.A. assistant coach, calling him a clown.

3. He had a profane blowup with an Anaheim broadcaster. In April of 2006, Avery confronted Anaheim broadcaster Brian Hayward after the former NHL goalie accused him of refusing to fight Ducks enforcer Todd Fedoruk.

4. He reportedly showered obscenities on fans in Nashville and Boston.

5. He was accused of making comments about a hockey player having cancer but he denied it and launched a lawsuit against a radio station that reported it.

6. He criticized the NHL (earning a fine). Avery was slapped with a $1,000 US fine for criticizing the NHL on its diving penalties.

7. Avery blasted NHLPA executive Bob Goodenow for his handling of the negotiations throughout the NHL lockout, saying the players "wasted an entire season."

8. Avery denies directing a racial slur at Oilers winger George Laraque, who is black. He claims the Edmonton enforcer "fabricated the whole thing."

9. In an interview with ESPN, last year, Avery slammed the NHL for not properly marketing its stars.

Some hockey pundits said Avery needed sensitivity training, not the anger management he got from the NHL and the NHLPA.

Avery passed anger management and is now in the AHL with the Hartford Wolf Pack, apparently on his way back to the NHL with the New York Rangers.