If you follow sports at all, you might have recently heard the name Sean Avery floated around in discussions. Sean Avery is one of the most agitating hockey players in the National Hockey League, known for getting on the nerves of opponents, teammates, coaches, fans, and pretty much everyone else on this good green earth that comes within 20 feet of him. He uses his mouth as a weapon, and his antics are well-known around the league. Many players basically brush him off and try not to pay attention to his taunts when they are on the ice with him.

Last week, Avery, now with the Dallas Stars, got himself into his latest bucket of hot water when he verbally antagonized a Calgary Flames defenseman who is currently dating his ex-fiance, actress Elisha Cuthbert. Avery gloated to the press about how humorous he thinks it is that another player is dating his ex-girlfriend, using a derogatory slang term to describe Cuthbert in front of the media. The comment landed Avery an indefinite suspension.     

Like hockey, software development is very much a team sport for many organizations. Avery is not liked by many of his own teammates, some of which have said the Dallas locker room is a much happier place without him. I wonder how many software development teams have a Sean Avery on their staff that continually stifles the development process and causes more problems than necessary. Sure, software developers likely won’t be maligning anyone else’s significant others in an immature manner, but I bet everyone’s come across somebody that just can’t play well with others. Someone that tries to do everything his or her own way, rather than buying into the team concept. Someone that thinks the team should be using one development methodology or platform over another, or someone that carries on about a specific requirement that no one else feels is necessary. Like the saying goes, every family has one, right? Unfortunately, in software development, you can’t simply land a big body check on someone when they’re out of line. Game on!