The title of this blog and the picture to your left is one of the funniest quotes from what might be my favorite movie, The Big Lebowski. It's when Walter Sobchak (John Goodman) accuses his bowling opponent Smokey of stepping over the line while pin seeking. It turns into a hilarious scene where Sobchak refers to Vietnam and pulls out a gun. Classic.
What isn't so funny is how one NHL team went "Over the Line" in my opinion at the recent NHL combine. During one of his interviews, Slovakian forward Tomas Tatar was allegedly asked if he was GAY. A Hockey's Future poster has translated the interview and you can read the article here. Here is the part I am referring to:
Q. Did you get any unusual questions?Listen, I know there are some odd ball questions out there, but what the hell does anyone's sexual orientation have to do with being a good hockey player???? I think whatever team asked this question is very wrong.
A. There were a few. I thought I didn’t properly understand what they were asking when they asked if I was married with kids and if I was gay. I calmly answered all questions
Now this might be a stretch and you might think I'm going overboard with this, but just hear me out. What if Tatar answered yes to the question, and the team that asked him didn't draft him. Could he sue them for discrimination? I mean you can't ask that in a job interview, and basically that is what the combine interview is. If Tatar doesn't go in the first round, and subsequently doesn't get first round money, could he sue for lost wages???
The NHL team in question is on a slippery slope with this one in my opinion. Am I being to sensitive or blowing this out of proportion? Let me know.
