With three games remaining, the Kings unofficially suspended Avery for the remainder of the season after he refused to do a drill in practice.
During his time with the Kings, Avery has been said to have mocked
Dustin Brown about his lisp. Former Kings' teammate
Ian Laperrière said it "was bullying, like you might see in high school." But according to other players and coaches, Brown's lisp was not Avery's target, Brown's then girlfriend, now wife, Nicole was. Avery did not think Nicole Brown was glamorous enough to be a "girlfriend of a hockey player in Hollywood.
In December 2008, the NHL suspended Avery after he made controversial remarks about other players dating his ex-girlfriends.
[19] After serving a six-game suspension and completing a counseling program, the Stars placed Avery on waivers on February 7, 2009.
His last game played with the Whale was on January 27, 2012. He was left off the Whale's Clear Day list of players eligible to play for the remainder of the AHL season submitted on March 5, and told to no longer report to games or practices.
During and after his hockey career, Avery has been involved in a number of controversies. The NHL and his teams have disciplined him multiple times. Outside of hockey, he has a history of
bullying co-workers, support staff, and his own mother-in-law.
In November 2007, Howard Berger, a reporter for Toronto radio station
FAN 590 stated that an unnamed Rangers player had accused Avery of commenting about
Toronto Maple Leafs player
Jason Blake's battle with leukemia, prior to a pre-game confrontation between Avery and Toronto's
Darcy Tucker.
[34] Avery, who denied the allegation, received an NHL-maximum $2500 fine, and Tucker received a $1000 fine.
On December 2, 2008, prior to the Stars' morning skate in preparation for a game against the
Calgary Flames, Avery approached the assembled reporters in the dressing room and stated, "I just want to comment on how it's become like a common thing in the NHL for guys to fall in love with my
sloppy seconds.
Commissioner Gary Bettman noted that both he and league disciplinarian
Colin Campbell had warned Avery several times before about his behavior.
[40] On December 14, after the last game of Avery's suspension, the Stars announced that Avery would not return to the team. One factor in the Stars decision was that coach
Dave Tippett and several of the players, including
Mike Modano and
Marty Turco, let it be known they weren't willing to take him back on the team. Tippett had warned Avery not to talk to the media about his former girlfriends, and was outraged when he did so.
[43][44] According to
TSN's
James Duthie, Avery's teammates had soured on him not long after he arrived. The "sloppy seconds" incident was the last straw, and Hicks had been actively looking to cut ties with him while the suspension was underway.
[
In late 2014, Avery left rehearsals of a Broadway production he was a part of early after growing agitated. The next day, Avery’s behavior grew worse. According to witnesses, when a young assistant stage manager named Natalie asked the athlete-turned-actor if he wanted a slice of pizza, he said no, but somehow thought the assistant had called him an "a–hole." "It’s a complete horror story … Avery had a complete meltdown in rehearsals and quit. He pretty much snapped," witnesses told the
New York Post.
[49]
In 2016, Avery was served with a restraining order for harassing his mother-in-law. Beginning in summer of 2016, Avery "...was harassing her. They were running into each other, belonged to the same gym, and he’d issue profanities at her and make obscene gestures. He was driving in his car too close to her and scaring her."
[50]
You really can't figure out that Avery is a total piece of shit?
www.peoplepoweredmovement.org
