February 15, 2012
Hockey Player Suspended For Anti-Gay Tweet
Jason St. Amand READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Hockey player Justin Fontaine, the Houston Aeros' second leading scorer and a Minnesota Wild prospect, was suspended for two games for using an anti-gay epithet on the social media website, Twitter, Yahoo reported.
The rookie hockey player, who made the comment during the Grammy Awards broadcast, was in response to his roommate's tweet about alt-rock band Foo Fighters' performance.
"@J_Fontaine37: @DaveJMcIntyre I disagree, the Foo Faggots were awful. #TerribleShow #BadTaste #6205"agree foo foo!" he wrote.
"Minnesota Sports and Entertainment (MSE) apologizes for the offensive slur that was posted by Justin Fontaine on Twitter last night," the Wild said in a statement. "Fontaine has been suspended from playing in the next two games for the Houston Aeros."
Fontaine deleted the tweet and then apologized in a new tweet. Several Wild fans saw the comment, however, and the Aeros' captain, John DiSalvatore, even retweeted it.
"My apologies to everyone, it was wrong. Twitter rookie and it came out totally wrong. It was a roommate battle, nothing more. #sorry." The hockey player tweeted.
In a similar incident, CNN's Roland Martin made a violent and a homophobic tweet during this year's Super Bowl, EDGE reported.
"If a dude at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckham's H&M underwear ad, smack the ish out of him!" the on-air sportscaster wrote.
Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) demanded that CNN fire Martin. After apologizing for his remarks, CNN decided to suspend the commentator. Martin then said that he would meet with GLAAD officials.
"I look forward to meeting with GLAAD in the near future and having a productive dialogue," Martin tweeted.
As for the National Hockey League, it was revealed in September 2011 that there is a no-tolerance policy for players gay-baiting other players when a Philadelphia Flyers player allegedly called New York Rangers player Sean Avery a "faggot" during a game.
The ruckus, however, also revealed that the league has not spelled out its policy about such negative epithets off the ice.
