Shaw volunteered to be Montreal's You Can Play ambassador
Words hurt. Andrew Shaw knows better than most.
The forward is the Montreal Canadiens' You Can Play ambassador during February's "Hockey is for Everyone" NHL-run campaign, and he revealed Friday that he volunteered for the position, after being suspended for using a homophobic slur in last year's playoffs.
Andrew Shaw doesn't want this to be about him, but using a slur compelled him to do it: "This is me giving back for a mistake that I made."
— Аrpon Basu (@ArponBasu) February 3, 2017
"You can look back, I used a word that I never should have," Shaw added, according to TSN 690's Amanda Stein. "It's a word that has been used for years, and people need to know it's not right.
"They brought it to the team and I thought it would be a good opportunity to help out," he added. "What I went through last year, you know I learned from it. Words affect people more than you think. ... With what I learned last year it's a good position to be in. I can take what I learned from my experiences and help others learn the value of words."