In December 2019, NHL on NBC analyst Jeremy Roenick (seen above) was suspended by the network for comments he made on Barstool Sports’ “Spittin’ Chiclets” podcast about coworkers Kathryn Tappen and Patrick Sharp. Those comments included him saying “I play it off like we’re all going to bed together every night, the three of us. …If it really came to fruition, that would really be good” about vacationing with his wife and Tappen, and then adding “He is so beautiful, I’d have to think about it if he asked me” about Sharp. In February 2020, Roenick took to Twitter with a video titled “What a Joke!!,” which included him saying that he would not be returning to NBC. And now, he’s dropped a lawsuit claiming that NBC “discriminated against him as a straight man.”
Here’s more on that from Gene Maddaus at Variety:
Hockey star Jeremy Roenick sued NBC Sports for wrongful termination on Friday, claiming the network discriminated against him as a straight man after he made off-color remarks on a Barstool Sports podcast.
Roenick also alleges that the network retaliated against him because he was an outspoken supporter of President Trump in 2016.
…“I’m swimming with my wife and Kathryn, and they’ve got their bikinis on, and they look f—in’ smokin’,” he said on the podcast in December. “Ass and boobs everywhere. It’s great.”
…The suit points to controversy over a promotional video involving NBC figure skating commentators Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir, which involved some vulgar language and an insinuation of an affair. The suit notes that neither Weir nor Lipinski were suspended or terminated.
Roenick said that he had also told [Sam] Flood [executive producer & president, production, NBC & NBCSN] that Weir used “colorful commentary” about skaters’ body parts during the 2018 Olympics. Flood allegedly responded that Weir “is gay and can say whatever.”
The Variety piece also includes claims from Roenick that Flood told him “That would not look good on your NBC record” about a request to speak in favor of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump at the 2016 Republican national convention, and that Flood later told him “your boy is messing up this country.” Roenick claims that his support for Trump was also a factor in his firing.
[Variety]
