It’s a familiar situation for the controversial 12-year National Hockey League (NHL) veteran.
Gudas, nicknamed “The Butcher,” has been ejected by referees and suspended and/or fined multiple times by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety throughout his career for dangerous hits that injure other players.
But his NHL team was hyping his appearance at the Olympics on February 18, which proved to be an unfortunate choice.
Gudas picked that day to pop off at the on-ice officials during the Olympics after injuring a beloved player.
While playing in the quarterfinal game against Team Canada for his home country of Czechia, Gudas hit Canadian captain Sidney Crosby near the red line at the beginning of the second period, and checked him into the boards shortly after. Crosby, center and captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins, was forced to leave the ice for the rest of the game.
Crosby, all-time leading scorer for Team Canada in Olympic history among tournaments featuring NHL players, was unable to play in the semifinal against Sweden and the gold medal game against Team USA — which many fans are saying was instrumental to Team USA’s win.
The Penguins have announced Crosby has been placed on their injury reserve roster as well.
But it wasn’t just Gudas injuring another player again that’s drawing backlash.
It’s what the Team Czechia defenseman did afterword.
Near the end of the second period, Gudas was caught yelling a gay slur while arguing with two officials after being called for a penalty. Hockey employs four on-ice officials, two referees whose primary duty it is to call player infractions, and two linespersons who watch for off sides and other puck/player positions during play.
Gudas seemed to be to directing his insult at the referee next to him, Sweden’s Mikael Holm, but it may have been for the other official, seen shaking his head in the video. Gudas was on his way to the penalty box when he had his outburst.
People are disappointed that Gudas decided to resort to homophobic slurs during the Olympics.
A week later, Gudas addressed his outburst with the New York Times publication The Athletic, saying:
“I’m a very passionate guy. I put my heart on a sleeve, and I take the game very seriously.”
“I didn’t realise at that moment the full meaning of the word and I’m really sorry they had to be part of it.”
“Learn from our mistakes.”
While Gudas’s chosen insult described a sexual act, it implied the official was gay and that gay was an insult, making his outburst homophobic. And it’s difficult to understand why Gudas would pick that as an insult if he wasn’t implying homosexuality was negative.
When The Athletic’s Eric Stephens asked if he understood why his outburst was considered offensive, Gudas replied:
“Hundred percent. I think as a sport we take pride in staying away from those things. In the heat of the moment, the emotions got the best of me and I’m sorry for the way it looks in all of hockey.”
“Nothing I can do about right now, but I feel sorry about that.”
Some people weren’t sure they wanted to accept Gudas’s apology, with some fans really going in on Bluesky and X.
His inclusion of the words “I’m sorry” puts Gudas light years ahead of the Team USA men’s hockey team and their individual NHL teams, the league, Team USA Hockey, and their moms who are all tap dancing around apologizing to the Team USA women’s gold medalists they laughed at on a call with MAGA Republican President Donald Trump after he chose to mock them.
Instead, they’ve expressed regret and solidarity and unity and posted pictures of the girls and women in their lives while never saying, “I’m sorry.”
But Gudas’s choice of insult is still problematic.
The knee jerk reaction to insult a man’s masculinity and the perception that gay men aren’t masculine, so implying a man is gay is the perfect insult is a toxic mindset that needs to be weeded out of sports at all levels.
As does the choice to refer to male players as ladies or girls to devalue them, which coaches of even peewee level athletes are caught doing. Both instill a lifelong reflex in male athletes that the worst thing a person can be is gay or female.
In 2017, Anaheim Ducks player Ryan Getzlaf was fined $10,000 by the NHL for using the same gay slur against an official during a Stanley Cup playoff game. Gudas was playing for the Philadelphia Flyers at the time, so it’s possible he didn’t get the memo about homophobic slurs.
