Heavy Artillery

So the hockey fic has more than doubled in size since last time I mentioned it, which I'm pretty proud of considering that it's a format I've never done before. I'm currently working on a transcript from a fictional episode of Hockey Central, which is a radio show/podcast I listen to almost on the daily, wherein the hosts discuss the video of Eddie Jones being outed and I thought, what's better to pique everyone's interest in this already incredibly niche fanfic than a look at some characters you (probably) don't know talking about the impact of a player coming out in a sport you (probably) don't care about? ;P

STEWART: - but the thing that's kind of jarring me, on this one, is - it's the suddenness of it. The disrespect for a player's personal privacy. I mean, we're all used to the - the celebrity of hockey, right?

MAREK: [behind] Sure, sure.

STEWART: There's a certain amount of that that comes with being an elite athlete on the pro circuit, a certain amount of fame. You're in the public eye, y'know? And you expect a certain amount of scrutiny, from fans, or from the press. But I think in this case, it's a situation where that celebrity had the potential to backfire in a big way and it kind of did. I mean, you gotta be a little pissed off on Jones's behalf, y'know? Whether he - however he identifies, whether he's gay or bisexual or whether it was some big misunderstanding or whatever the case may be, it's frustrating to see some of these media outlets latch onto the whole situation as some big scandal when it's not really anybody's business. 

MAREK: See, Stewie, that raises the question for me—when a player's public conduct has an impact on the overall well-being of the team, does it become anybody's business?

STEWART: Well -

MAREK: When a player is reported for making inappropriate advances or when a player engages in conduct unbecoming as a figurehead for the team they represent, those kinds of incidents get reported and they become everybody's business.

STEWART: Right.

MAREK: Or so Twitter would lead me to believe.

BURKE: Oh yeah, everyone on Twitter's an expert. Doctor, lawyer, professor, you name it.

MAREK: Now, I'll grant you, this is kind of a different situation –

STEWART: [top] This is a completely different situation! This isn't a player assaulting a cabbie over some loose change or a - a player consistently showing up in the tabloids being tossed out of bars. I haven't seen the video myself, but from what I gather, Jones wasn't doing anything different than any other guy out celebrating a win with his buddies might've been doing if he ran across someone he liked. It's the fact that it's another man in the video that's drawing everyone's attention and that's, y'know, that's a problem. Especially in our community, that's a problem.