NHL suspends Blackhawks' Shaw for using homophobic slur

Almost in tears and his voice shaking, Andrew Shaw stood before eight TV cameras and more than 20 media members to apologize for the hateful words he spewed at officials late in Game 4 of the Blackhawks' loss to the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday.

“I want to apologize for my actions. I have no excuses for anything,” Shaw said. “I want to apologize to the gay and lesbian community. That's not the type of guy I am.”

“This is hard for me. I saw the video last night and I had a tough time sleeping. What's gotten to me is I let my emotions get the better of me. I want to apologize to the organization, the NHL, my teammates, my family and my friends.”

Shaw was penalized for goaltender interference with 2:04 remaining in the Hawks' 4-3 loss, then shouted a homophobic slur from the penalty box.

“I will never use that word again, that's for sure,” said Shaw, who also made an obscene gesture on his way to the penalty box.

A few hours later, the NHL closed its investigation and suspended Shaw for Game 5 of the playoffs for the slur, and fined him $5,000 for making an obscene gesture. Shaw will also be required to undergo sensitivity training.

“While Mr. Shaw was apologetic and remorseful for both the offensive comments and the inappropriate gesture directed at the on-ice officials, he must be held accountable for his actions,” said Colin Campbell, NHL senior executive vice president of Hockey Operations. “The emotion of the moment cannot and will not be a mitigating factor for the conduct that is expected of an NHL player.”

Earlier Wednesday, Blackhawks officials also issued an apology. Coach Joel Quenneville said he did not speak with team officials about any discipline for Shaw, but he did express his disappointment with Shaw's actions as well..

Jonathan Toews, the only other Hawks player to speak before the team left for St. Louis, was asked if Shaw is the type of guy that normally uses such language.

“Well, I don't know what type of guy you mean,” Toews said. “But I think in this situation we all stand behind his apology. Andrew's done a good job of admitting what he did wrong, and I think the rest of us feel the same way.

“We all know what type of person he is. He's a great guy that everyone loves in the locker room. He's respectful of others. Obviously he knows that he made a mistake in the heat of the moment last night, and that's the way we're all looking at it is that there's a lot on the line for our hockey team.

“But at the end of the day, what happened … is in some way a teachable moment that we can all be a little more conscious of the impact that that word might have, and know that it can't be used loosely.”

Quenneville also expressed disappointment in his player.

“What Andrew did was unacceptable,” Quenneville said. “It's a very good experience to learn from, and I want to extend my apologies as well.”

Shaw's actions overshadowed the fact that he has been one of the team's best players in this series, including Tuesday when he scored the first goal on a deflection and assisted on the other goals.

This was an unwelcome distraction for a Hawks team that is playing well, but not well enough against a resilient, hard-nosed Blues team that is 1 victory away from eliminating the defending champs.

Can they move on and focus for Game 5? Can they come back and actually win this series? Can they use this moment to actually bring the team together?

We'll certainly find out soon enough.

“We're in a really tough spot,” Quenneville said. “There's been some learning situations as we've progressed here, and our group's had some situations comparable in the past that we've got to learn from and make us better players and better people.”

The Hawks as a team have been taking some bad and untimely penalties in this series, and it has led to St. Louis cashing in on four power-play opportunities. Toews said while they need to play with emotion, they also must stay more disciplined.

“Part of that is things that happen after the whistle,” Toews said. “Stuff that we've always done a good job of just staying away from and keeping it between the whistle, and just focusing our energy and our emotion in to the play that we bring on the ice.

“That's what we're going to need (Wednesday) night.”