Sean Avery, NHL’s Most Hated Player, became the league’s most apologetic player yesterday. Well, kind of. He did fly to New York to meet with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, and he did give somewhat of an apology.
 

As a reminder, here’s what the Dallas Stars’ resident belligerent said to get himself suspended:

Now it’s not exactly a curse-laden tirade, but it’s certainly not nice either. ESPN provides his apology below. You be the judge of just how appropriate and sincere a response it is. (And no, just because you use the word “sincerely” does not automatically convey sincerity.)

"I would like to sincerely apologize for my off-color remarks to the press yesterday from Calgary," Avery said. "I should not have made those comments and I recognize that they were inappropriate.

"It was a bad attempt to build excitement for the game, but I am now acutely aware of how hurtful my actions were. I caused unnecessary embarrassment to my peers as well as people I have been close with in the past.

"I apologize for offending the great fans of the NHL, the commissioner, my teammates, my coaching staff and the Dallas Stars management and ownership. As many of you know, I like to mix it up on and off the ice from time to time, but understand that this time I took it too far."

I’m not exactly sure how insulting an ex-girlfriend builds excitement for the game, but it certainly did garner a lot of attention, so mission accomplished.

But should Elisha Cuthbert feel vindicated by his words? As a person he’s “been close with in the past,” I doubt it.