Rangers Deny Rumor That Sean Avery Earned AHL Benching by Spitting on Coach

Sean Avery just can't buy a break these days. It's bad enough that he's been waived by the Rangers for the second time this year and is currently playing with their AHL affiliate, the Connecticut Whale.

Now, there's been a rumor floating around the Internet that Avery was benched on Friday because he spit on the Whale's coach, Ken Gernander.

The Rangers have come out to deny the rumor, according to the New York Daily News, but would not elaborate further on the matter. Avery himself also took to Twitter to deny any wrongdoing.

"Try not to BELIEVE everything u read," Avery reportedly posted on his Twitter account, which has since been made private. "Gentlemen don't spit."

However, that's not to say Avery's benching wasn't deserved. According to Yahoo's Puck Daddy, Avery has reportedly been displaying a "lack of effort in practice" and told the Whale's coach that he wasn't playing in the game.

So Avery may be insubordinate, but at least he didn't spit on anyone, right?