Before the NHL season began, Fox Sports 1 analyst Chris Chelios picked the Detroit Red Wings to win the Stanley Cup. This was noteworthy because Chelios isn’t just any NHL analyst working at a major sports network, he also works in the Red Wings front office as Advisor to Hockey Operations.
At the time, Chelios’ FS1 picks were an obvious conflict of interest that put the network in a difficult position. Now that the Stanley Cup playoffs are set to begin, there’s still an obvious conflict of interest that puts the network in a difficult position.
Chelios went on Fox Sports Live Tuesday night and predictably proclaimed the Detroit Red Wings to be one of his upset picks for the first round.
Again, FS Live and anchor Dan O’Toole were straight with viewers by telling them about Chelios’ affiliation with the Wings. That’s a lot better than what ESPN did with Magic Johnson. But trotting him out on national television to rave about his own team and how great they are is a bit of a joke, isn’t it? And not the funny haha kind, either.
Here’s the problem – Chelios is presenting to Fox Sports 1 viewers what sounds like an unbiased case in favor of the Red Wings, running down all the reasons why they’ll be successful in the postseason. However, there’s no way we can take any of it seriously considering the source. Of course he’s always going to pick the Red Wings because he works for them.
So what’s the point in listening to Chelios? If I’m an NHL fan who is interested in the playoffs, I’m tuning out immediately once I see Chelios praising his employers and looking elsewhere for analysis. NHL fans would be better served getting their analysis from Barry Melrose at ESPN. At least he isn’t also collecting a paycheck from one of the teams in the postseason.
What’s even more befuddling about all of this is that there are so many easy ways around this conflict of interest. Fox could simply not let Chelios pick Red Wings games or talk about the team. They could hire another NHL analyst to balance out Chelios’ opinions. Or, they could have just hired an NHL analyst that doesn’t work for one of the league’s franchises.
Perhaps the most discouraging element in all of this is that Fox Sports 1 seemingly doesn’t care about this conflict of interest at all. That does not send the message to viewers that they are a viable alternative in the 24/7 cable sports world.
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