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Steaming cups in hand, Holly and I sit at our table with our computers and get to work.
Obviously, there are several posts mocking the team and me. But the worst thing about this whole fiasco? The memes. Some are so bad they make me shrivel up inside just a little bit. Okay, some of them are actually pretty funny but others are just plain mean. One shows me riding Ryan with the caption, "Save a Horse, Ride a Northman." Another one says, "Getting Pucked." Several posts have plays on words or make bad jokes about hockey sticks and scoring.
Then there are the nasty ones calling Holly and me puck sluts and bunnies. SASS is getting ripped too. Instead of Sparks & Avery Sports Specialists, we've become Sparks & Avery Super Sluts and Sparks & Avery Sex Specialists.
I roll my eyes.
I fucking hate internet trolls. They're just a bunch of assholes who hide behind computer screens and usernames to bully people. They assume everything and know nothing. The most ignorant, righteous people live online, and their only purpose is to ridicule and criticize others while wearing the facade of a holier-than-thou do-gooder. What a bunch of assholes.
I spend the next forty-five minutes typing out our official statement. Initially, I start writing something generic, but I quickly change my mind and write from my heart. Honestly is the best policy and I'm not going to let a bunch of internet trolls and some dickhead hacker with no moral compass change my attitude.
Dear Fans,
Last night, I, Emerson Avery, made a mistake.
I am human.
But the mistake I made may not be the one you're all thinking of or are watching and commenting on online.
Seven years ago, I fell in love with Ryan Gunner. He was my high school sweetheart, my first boyfriend and my first everything. You may wonder why I'm sharing this with you when far too much has already been exploited online in the last twenty-four hours. This is why...
Online bullies and trolls are calling me slut, a whore, and worse. Yes, last night I made love to my boyfriend in his car. It wasn't the brightest idea I've ever had but I am not the first, and I certainly won't be the last woman to have sex inside a parked car. Having, and enjoying sex, does not make a woman a slut.
Not that it's any of your business, but I have only been with one man my entire life, and that man is Ryan Gunner. And I love him.
This doesn't mean I don't support women who have multiple partners. We all have the right to do with our bodies whatever makes us happy. It doesn't matter if a woman has one lover or a hundred. A woman has the right to do who and whatever makes her feel good. She has the right to dress however she wants, eat whatever she wants, read whatever she wants, and live however she wants. Conversations about women, their choices, and their bodies are not topics up for debate. Period, full stop.
Did I make a poor decision? Perhaps.
Do I regret expressing my love physically? No.
The video you've all been watching, over and over, was a private moment between two people in love (and even if it wasn't, it shouldn't matter). It was never meant for an audience, but someone saw an opportunity to exploit us and took it.
Now, a private moment has been broadcast for the world to see, analyze, dissect, and comment on. People do so without knowing the facts or understanding the circumstances that led up to that moment.
You all have a right to your opinions, but you do not have the right to judge me, tear down my character, and condemn me for actions most of you have likely engaged in yourselves.
If I have offended anyone, I apologize. But I did not post that video online, nor did I consent to having it posted, and I certainly didn't force anyone to watch it.
Viewers of online material CHOOSE to watch, comment, and share content. If you don't like what you see, turn it off. If you think it's wrong, stop sharing it.
While it is unfortunate this moment was posted online, I do not regret it.
Sex is an expression of love that also happens to be really fun too.
I will never apologize for loving someone with my whole heart and body, and I will never feel shame for it.
I love Ryan Gunner. If you have a problem with that, I don't care.
You can't stop me from loving someone any more than you could force me to love someone else.
Thank you for understanding,
Sincerely,
Emerson Avery
I save the document and ask Holly to read it before I publish it. I watch as her eyes scan down the page and her lips curve into a smile.
