He Made an N.H.L. Career Out of Being a Pest. It Isn’t Working in Court.

The previous New York Rangers participant Sean Avery was identified throughout his 13 seasons within the Nationwide Hockey League for being a provocateur. In retirement, he seems to have had a tough time letting go of the position.

In 2019, Mr. Avery, a Canadian who now lives in California and has tried his hand at performing, promoting and interning for Vogue Journal, appointed himself the defender of New York Metropolis’s bike lanes. He posted movies on his Instagram account that includes confrontations with others whom he accused of violating the written and unwritten guidelines of the biking lane.

That 12 months, prosecutors accused Mr. Avery of ramming his scooter into the door of a parked automotive. Mr. Avery, who performed six seasons with the Rangers earlier than retiring from the league a decade in the past, was charged with legal mischief, a misdemeanor. The case has dragged on ever since.

Two weeks in the past, a decide informed Mr. Avery throughout a digital listening to that if he didn’t seem within the courtroom in individual, a warrant can be issued for his arrest. On Thursday, Mr. Avery complied, and upon being known as to talk, made a declaration.

“I’d like to maneuver ahead by representing myself,” he mentioned.

His lawyer, Dmitriy Shakhnevich, quickly left the courtroom at Manhattan Felony Courtroom.

The decide, John Zhuo Wang, identified, by asking quite a few questions, that Mr. Avery had no authorized expertise and suggested him towards doing so. Mr. Avery, 42, who wore a black T-shirt and stored his sun shades on all through the looks, stood agency.

“Your honor, I want to request a jury trial,” Mr. Avery mentioned.

The misdemeanor with which Mr. Avery has been charged carries a comparatively gentle penalty, and Mr. Avery mentioned that prosecutors had already provided him plea offers that will contain a modest nice. However accepting the latest deal provided would have required Mr. Avery to plead responsible, pay a nice and attend an anger administration program, and he was apparently unwilling to just accept these phrases. (When requested for remark earlier than his look, he declined, then insulted a reporter and requested that the reporter be faraway from the courtroom.)

After Mr. Avery’s preliminary request for a jury trial, Choose Wang hung out coping with different circumstances. He turned again to the hockey participant after about 20 minutes, appointing a brand new lawyer, Stephen W. Edwards, who usually advises indigent defendants, to counsel Mr. Avery.

As Choose Wang thought-about a possible trial date, Mr. Avery, who for 2 consecutive seasons led the N.H.L. in minutes spent within the penalty field, grew irate.

“Your honor, I used to be informed there was going to be a trial at the moment,” he mentioned. “I flew in from California to attend this trial.” He once more requested a jury trial. Choose Wang mentioned that whereas Mr. Avery was not entitled to 1, the courtroom was prepared to carry a bench trial — by which a decide would hear the case and resolve it alone.

“Jury trial,” Mr. Avery insisted. “That’s the place we’re having an issue. I don’t want to just accept a bench trial.”

Choose Wang urged Mr. Avery to seek the advice of with Mr. Edwards however Mr. Avery wished to handle the courtroom instantly. “We have now an open relationship right here,” he mentioned, gesturing between himself and Choose Wang.

Choose Wang mentioned once more that Mr. Avery was not entitled to a jury trial, and requested if he wished to delay a bench trial to a different date. Mr. Avery mentioned sure, however that the earliest he can be obtainable can be the primary Monday after Labor Day.

“I’ve a job sir. I stay in California,” Mr. Avery mentioned, including, “I don’t simply get on the subway to come back right here.”

His habits as a commuter however, Mr. Avery was a hero to many Rangers followers throughout his profession and afterward, and sometimes appeared within the limelight. He was featured on a 2014 season of “Dancing With the Stars,” married a mannequin, Hilary Rhoda, and, briefly, booked work as a mannequin himself.

However his fame as an aggressive and temperamental hockey participant stays uncompromised. Towards the tip of his look on Thursday, as he sipped from a water bottle, he was instructed to maintain his masks on through the listening to and grew much more agitated. At the least 4 courtroom officers moved towards the entrance of the room.

Choose Wang set a trial for Might 23. Mr. Avery objected once more, and Choose Wang requested why.

“Your honor, I informed you,” he mentioned. “I stay in California.”

The decide informed Mr. Avery that if he didn’t seem on the appointed day, a warrant can be issued for his arrest.