New Jersey Devils' Cam Janssen has
apologized for making an off-color joke about gay hockey players.
The 28-year-old Janssen, who is known
as an enforcer for his physical play and frequent fights, made the
joke while discussing
the art of trash-talking.
“There's some shit-talking that goes
down that pisses some people off. There's a lot of personal shit,
man, like, guys know personal shit,” he said on The Thom &
Jeff Show, a St. Louis-based Internet radio show. “You wanna
get in people's heads to get them off their fucking game. And don't
get me wrong, you don't wanna go too deep with shit because we all
have our issues here. Let's be honest.”
“But if the guy was sucking cock four
weeks ago, you're gonna let him know about it?” the host asked.
“Oh, if he's sucking cock, he's
getting his ass kicked,” Janssen joked.
On Friday, Janssen apologized for the
remark and expressed support for the NHL's
You Can Play project, which supports gay athletes.
“Earlier this week, I participated in
an Internet-based radio show in which I used some poor judgment which
I now regret. The New Jersey Devils were unaware of this interview,
which I arranged myself.”
“I would like to apologize for my
poor choice of language. The tone of the interview was very casual
and off-color, and I lost focus on what is and is not acceptable and
professional. I am deeply sorry to anyone who was offended by my
language. Moving forward, I hope to eliminate that type of language
from my vocabulary. I would also like to take this chance to express
my support for the work the You Can Play project is doing, and for
the gay community in general.
“I apologize for the embarrassment my
comments have caused to the New Jersey Devils management, as well as
my teammates.”