OHL fines Sudbury Wolves $7,500 for Paul Fixter's profane outburst

Those of you scoring at home can decide for yourselves how much of the fine is for what Paul Fixter said and how much is for how far it travelled.

A soundbyte gets around the Internet twice before well-chosen words get can their boots on, to update an old saying. After a game on Oct. 22, Fixter twice swore at a reporter during a post-game scrum following a Sudbury Wolves' lopsided loss to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. It kind of broke the Internet, and while Fixter immediately apologized, the OHL has handed down a heavy fine.

The league's release, in its entirety:

It was regrettable, through and through. Using profanity crossed a line and, as noted in our initial post, the way Fixter tried to pull one of the news gatherers in the scrum onside was clearly an attempt to marginalize the target of his F-bombs, Sault Star reporter Peter Ruicci. That puts the sanctions in line with the OHL's anti-bullying policy. So there is a rationale behind it. At the same time, this probably has a little to do with fact the video of Fixter went everywhere in the Canadian and U.S. media, including Deadspin.

To put it in perspective, the fine is 10 times greater than the $750 fine the WHL recently levied against the Seattle Thunderbirds for comments coach Steve Konowalchuk made about officials.

The kicker, as Sudbury Star beat writer Ben Leeson pointed out an incisive column written shortly after the incident, is that Fixter is typically very accountable to the media. Some coaches, after their team's 10th loss in a row, might have tried to duck the media or dragged out appearing outside the dressing room as long as possible. Instead, Fixter honoured the OHL policy about being available 10 minutes after a game, and it cost him and the Wolves. It's part of being human and the challenge is to absorb the lesson and adapt.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.