Houston Aeros forward Justin Fontaine has been suspended for two games for an antigay slur in a tweet responding to the Grammys. 

He has since apologized for his mistake, saying it was the result of a harmless Twitter battle with his roommate, but news spread quickly anyway and The Wild decided it best to suspend Fontaine.

Prior to the season, the NHL issued a social media policy, which includes a “blackout period” on game days.

Also, “the new policy makes it clear that players and club personnel will be held responsible for their social communications in the same manner in which they are held responsible for other forms of public communications. 

“As a result, discipline is possible for any social media statements that have or are designed to have an effect prejudicial to the welfare of the league, the game of hockey or a member club, or are publicly critical of officiating staff.”

I’m quite impressed at the speed of the decision in this case. Sometimes athletes who mess up are left to vent for days about their bad choices before organizations decide what to do. Props to the officials involved for dealing with this quickly and fairly.