Alan Gordon did not have a very good day, and he's really only got himself to blame. Not only did the San Jose Earthquakes forward get ejected after picking up a pair of yellow cards in his team's loss to the Portland Timbers on Sunday, but he also got caught by NBC Sports Network cameras using a gay slur.
Alan Gordon gets caught using gay slur, apologizes
San Jose Earthquakes forward will likely be suspended.
USA TODAY Sports Images
Apparently given a chance to actually see that he’d been caught red-handed, Gordon wasted little time issuing this apology through the team:
“I would like to sincerely apologize to everyone who watched tonight’s match on NBC Sports Network. The language I used came during a heated moment and does not reflect my feelings toward the gay and lesbian community. I made a mistake and I accept full responsibility for my actions.”
Accepting responsibility, in this case, will likely mean serving a multi-game suspension. Marc Burch was given a three-game ban after he was caught using the exact same phrase -- coincidentally also aimed at Will Johnson -- during the playoffs last season. I'd imagine Gordon will get at least that many games, which means he won't be playing for quite some time as he also has a red-card suspension to serve.
And that’s how it should be. While I have no doubt that this kind of language goes unpunished whenever it is not caught on camera, the league should be making examples of people at least when it is. Gordon seemed to immediately recognize his mistake and I’m sure it’s not indicative of his personal feelings, but the league should be taking every reasonable action to stamp out the use of gay slurs.
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