Hockey player Ryan Getzlaf fined $10,000 for using homophobic slur
EDMONTON, AB – APRIL 30: Ryan Getzlaf #15 of the Anaheim Ducks skates against the Edmonton Oilers in Game Three of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on April 30, 2017 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Codie McLachlan/Getty Images)
An ice hockey star has been fined thousands of dollars after using a homophobic slur during a match.
Ryan Getzlaf, the captain of the Anaheim Ducks, will have to pay a $10,000 fine after he directed the slur to “another on-ice participant”, who has not been identified.
I need a lip reader for what Ryan Getzlaf says here, right now. #NHLDucks pic.twitter.com/ucco9FkWf5
— Piero P. (@THAT_G0MEZ) May 19, 2017
In footage from the match, between the Anaheim Ducks and Nashville Predators, Getzlaf can be heard saying “f*cking c*ck sucker” to what is believed to be an official from his own team or the referee of the match.
The NHL senior executive vice president of hockey operations, Colin Campbell, said that the abuse would not be tolerated by the league.
“Getzlaf’s comment in Thursday’s game, particularly as directed to another individual on the ice, was inappropriately demeaning and disrespectful and crossed the line into behaviour that we deem unacceptable.
“The type of language chosen and utilised in this instance will not be tolerated by the National Hockey League,” Campbell added.
The fine is the maximum that is allowed under the policies of the league, but Getzlaf was not suspended for future games.
It has been criticised as not being stern enough because the ice hockey player earns a salary of a whopping $9.25 million.
Andrew Shaw was suspended from games and fined $5,000 for using “inappropriate gestures” to a referee.
Getzlaf said that he takes “responsibility” for using the language, but said that he was “disappointed” that it had been interpreted as homophobic.
“I didn’t mean it in that manner in any way,” he said.
The first professional transgender ice hockey player, Harrison Brown, announced that they are ready to retire recently.
The Buffalo Beauts skater became a name well known in the National Women’s Hockey League when he helped his team get to the finals.
The athlete has decided to retire from his sport because he wants to focus on his other priorities.
