The One That Got Away? Bettman Dismisses Idea That "Katy Perry" Chants Are Sexist

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on Friday indicated that he "has no issue" with Jets fans' chants that compared Ducks RW Corey Perry to pop star Katy Perry, according to John Wawrow of the AP. Bettman said, "I don't think taunting chants at players on the other side of the ice, assuming the language is acceptable, is intended to be sexist in the slightest. It's like when you call a goaltender a sieve and they chant that. Is that now inappropriate?" When reminded that sieves "don't have feelings, Bettman nodded in agreement." He said, "The point's taken. But the fact of the matter is, I don't think Katy Perry was particularly upset by that chant." He added, "I think it's overly literal. I think nobody there is taking it seriously" (AP, 4/24). SI.com's Sarah Kwak noted Bettman did "come around a bit, saying that he takes sexism as seriously as other disrespectful fan actions, such as booing during national anthems and homophobic chants." Kwak wrote, "Do I believe that Gary Bettman is a woman-hating misogynist? No, of course not. But this morning’s exchange was a pretty obvious example of latent sexism -- a problem that is not unique to hockey, or sports, or America" (SI.com, 4/24).

DISAPPOINTING RESPONSE: SPORTING NEWS' Sean Gentille wrote Bettman "should be able to at least recognize when the actions of other people are, say, sexist and crappy," which is why his reaction the chants "was disappointing." Bettman said of the chants, "I think that nobody there is taking it seriously other than they’re trying to get to a player’s thought process in terms of what’s going on in the course of a game. ... But I think there’s always a line between what is parody intended in good fun and what’s intended to belittle certain segments in society. We obviously don’t encourage that." Gentille wrote the chant "absolutely belittled a 'certain segment of society.' ... That’s the intent. If you doubt that thousands of women weren't angered, annoyed and hurt on some level by it, run a cursory Twitter search." Gentille wrote of sexism, "Step 1 is recognizing it when you see it -- or hear it" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 4/24). In N.Y., Larry Brooks wrote Bettman's response "might have been expressed somewhat more artfully, but this isn’t an issue regarding which that either the commissioner or the league should be piled on." The NHL "has been socially progressive on gender issues and has been respectful of the role of women in the media and within the industry" (N.Y. POST, 4/26).