can you give those of us without a subscription a quick recap with the important stuff from the article?
Some of it is bad and some is just funny in an embarrassing sort of way. I strongly encourage everyone to read the full article for proper context and I assume it will be considered off topic and deleted if I post too much. I think the main takeaway should be what was said by all those involved in the article that this is not even scratching the surface and that they'd have a 10,000+ page report if not for the Athletic's very strict requirements of 7 or 8 source checks required. Some things were 4 or 5 source checked but still not allowed.
Some highlights would be
-Snippet about his legal issues involving Biovail with a 24.6 million fine, 10 million settlement, 5 year ban and another $565k fine. Old news I suppose.
-Railing against the "f***ing gay campaign" and the employees responsible for long after including using prejudice language
“Are you the one responsible for this f***ing gay campaign? Have you lost your f***ing mind? You need to take that shit down immediately.”
It was a Friday evening, Feb. 8, 2019, when a team executive received the phone call, Melnyk’s nasal screaming reverberating on the other line.
-Abusive phone calls and emails to employees, including well outside working hours phone calls and levelling threats and masogynistic insults at a particular female employee.
Also that year, Melnyk sent a threatening email to a female employee who had not responded immediately to an email Melnyk sent her. When she finally wrote back, reminding Melnyk she was on a scheduled vacation, he responded in all caps: “YOU f***ING C – – T – WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? WHEN I SAY CALL YOU DO IT. WHEN I TELL YOU TO DO SOMETHING YOU DO IT. YOU ARE DONE!”
That same female employee had received a threatening email from Melnyk about a year earlier that includes the lines: “You really are a dumb bitch who doesn’t get it. How dare you write and question me” and “You are a no one.”
-Numerous external surveys brought in coming to same conclusion of toxic workplace
In a summary of findings written in August 2019 and labeled “The Bitter Truth,” Level5 concluded:
- The Senators as a brand, a business, and a hockey team are facing an existential crisis that threatens the club
- The business will not improve if it continues to operate in a way it is operating today; substantial change is required in order to accomplish a substantial turnaround
- Currently, the Senators have no brand; the Eugene Melnyk brand is overwhelming the Senators brand and it is negatively impacting the organization
I'll stop there but there's some other interesting stuff like not paying external partners on time or agreed upon amounts. Trying to have his friend/understudy arrested and thrown in jail for his delusions about thievery. Lots of other recap like the Jim Little and O'Leary stuff.
