[The Athletic] Jeff Marek was let go because of allegedly leaking draft selections

[Andrei79]

I can understand why Marek is in "trouble", but I don't understand why he was fired beyond the influence of big gambling.

Marek helmed a daily radio show and was part of a top podcast across all categories in Canada. That's a talent you slap on the wrist, not fire behind the curtain and wait for details to waft out.

To me, if Sportsnet solely wanted Marek gone for what he did, then they themselves would have announced it and condemned the behavior. That's the PR game we play today. To do it this way still leaves questions.

Marek made a mistake by sharing the info - no doubt about that. But what were the consequences? No one made money, Seidel is small potatoes (11k twitter followers..), no draftees were affected, no fans knew what was happening......so why fire the guy in such a secretive manner??

Yeah, it might be they were looking at an out. Sometimes, these guys haven't necessarily done anything wrong, but they might be opinionated, disagree with the direction and voice it to their bosses or/and they can have very high salaries management feels they can cut down on due to the costs of NHL rights. Something like this becomes an easy out for them. Louis Jean touched on the subject on a French podcast as he himself was let go from TVAsport.

 

[krutovsdonut]

As the article states bets on NHL draft picks are closed 24 hours before the draft.

plus any sportsbook taking draft pick bets is doing it at an entertainment level. nobody in their right mind is going to accept serious bets on something that is decided by human choice with multiple people knowing the decision.

 

[gach]

Everyone leaks draft picks.

I didn't

 

[Arthur Morgan]

I believe insiders have been leaking this info for many years but now with gambling being such a big part it can have an impact.

wonder if next year we dont hear about teams pick ahead of the draft unless they got like 1st or something and its clear. just like when Leafs had 1st overall. they tried to make it seem like Laine had a chance going over Matthews but really it was 100% Matthews right out the gate

 

[Brodeur]

How exactly did he leak picks? He doesn't know who each team is picking beforehand as no team would tell him that. The picks are made live in the first round, so how can those be leaked?

Just to reiterate a previous post, teams enter the selection at the table but have to wait for the green light to take the podium and make the announcement. There will be a member of the TV crew who'll be standing next to the team while they're on the clock and basically tell them when they're done interviewing the previous prospect, or have returned from commercial, etc. The above clip shows some random suit telling Buffalo "you can go now."

The TV production folks then have a couple minutes to prep for the next pick. When I went to the 2017 Draft, I was seated behind the NBCSN crew and I recall them prepping a highlight package for Cal Foote who wasn't taken yet, vaguely recall thinking "I guess that means he is the next pick" and he was. The cameramen also use that time to scan the crowd and find the prospect for the obligatory reaction shot, that's how they're ready for somebody unexpected like Beckett Sennecke (or Mark Visentin in 2010).

In Marek's case, he would have a couple minutes to prep in case he needed to interview the draftee. Marek was apparently forwarding the info to his buddy / independent scout Mark Seidel. I don't think Seidel was using that info for financial gains, moreso to show off to his Twitter followers that he had inside info.

 

[Michael Brand Eggs]

Oh noes, he leaked the pick ONE MINUTE early, better fire him!

The problem here isn't the leaking, it's that people are betting on the draft.

 

[Slats432]

No one made money

There are a few that made money on the Sennecke pick.

 

[Voight]

Everyone leaks draft picks.

In generally, everyone leaks everything.

Journalism would more or less least to exists if information was never leaked. But in this situation, Marek just went about things wrong.

 

[FerrisRox]

Yup, Seravalli went to daily faceoff in June 2021 and the expansion draft was in July: Daily Faceoff

Comparing a 1 team expansion draft where Seattle had to register their picks like 8 hours before the TV show to announce those picks to a 32 team draft with teams having a few minutes on the clock is also a very different situation, not sure why people are comparing the 2.

There's no comparison. What Seravalli did was a good example of why he's good at his job. He got the answers to the questions everyone were asking and managed to scoop the official announcement.

What Marek did wasn't good reporting at all. It was unethical. He leaked privileged information that he was only given as part of his job working for the league's broadcast partner.

He not only compromised himself, but he also put his employer in a very poor position. It was an incredibly stupid thing to do and, to your point, is nothing like the Seattle Expansion Draft.

 

[FerrisRox]

Oh noes, he leaked the pick ONE MINUTE early, better fire him!

The problem here isn't the leaking, it's that people are betting on the draft.

Actually, no, the problem is journalistic ethics. The gambling stuff is just a by-product of why what he did is so problematic, but the issue is ethics, not gambling.

 

[wetcoast]

He absolutely wasn't.

McKenzie didn't have that information because his guesses weren't, in fact always accurate.

Additionally, he often released his full round selections before the draft even began - long before the league would even have the information - and he would adjust his guesses on the broadcast as the order changed from his speculated picks.

True enough but with draft day being live and a big spectacle there is ever increasing pressure to have breaking news, inside scoops ect and the Marek situation is part of the demand and instant twitter society we have today.

Actually, no, the problem is journalistic ethics. The gambling stuff is just a by-product of why what he did is so problematic, but the issue is ethics, not gambling.

As for this most hockey "journalists" are more insiders than Putlzer prize winning journalists types.

Heck beat writers for years would sit in the media section played with alcohol and food so ethics ya sure.

 

[Five Alarm Fire]

I’m surprised we don’t see this happen more often given how many leaks are out there.

 

[JianYang]

Who is leaking these picks to marek, and what is the point of that?

Do they have to know so that they have a little bit of time to tailor the questions they are going to be asking on air?

 

[patnyrnyg]

Everyone leaks draft picks.

Marek is told so he can do his job on the broadcast. If his employer tells him he is not to reveal the info to anyone and he does, they have the right to fire him.

 

[patnyrnyg]

Trades have to be queued up in advance too so the league office can process and approve them. Everything you see happening at the draft, whether it be selections or trades, actually was finalized a few minutes before it's announced.

Correct. The team informs the league of their pick before walking up to the podium to make the announcement. That is when Marek was getting the info. Works the same in the NFL draft, hence "The Pick Is In", announcement that happens before the team entourage is on the stage.

The leagues want people watching the draft to get the pick otherwise advertisers do not want to pay $. Seeing it on twitter before the announcement will hurt the ratings (in their eyes).

 

[bringbacktheskate604]

Nobody allows bets to be placed on draft picks a minute before they are announced publicly for this exact reason. There was no chance anybody was going to be making money on bets as a result of Seidel’s Twitter posts.

I think the sketchiest part of the story was actually Seidel insinuating that his accurate predictions were a product of his knowledge of prospects rather than insider information.

I was watching the MLB draft live and picks were getting leaked early.
I mean aside from ruining it for us fans I don't see it as a big deal since I'm sure all GM's know exactly who's getting picked before the commish announces it.

If no money can be made than while kind of douchy, I don't see it as some huge scandal.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

If that's true then he was being an idiot you can't be doing that that spoils the draft.

Imagine if before the legend of Zelda movie comes out, the director of the movie decides to leak the entire plot.

That's essentially what Marek did.

He deserved to be fired, and no TSN should not hire him

 

[Tarmore]

so he was leaking shit

smh can't be doing that

I do that every day!

Usually over a toilet. What is the problem?

 

[Hobnobs]

Who is leaking these picks to marek, and what is the point of that?

Do they have to know so that they have a little bit of time to tailor the questions they are going to be asking on air?

There is a whole thread with the answer to that but TDLR: NHL gives info to their journalists so they can prepare interviews with the draftees.

No one leaked it to Marek. He leaked confidential information.

 

[Djp]

Everyone leaks draft picks.

Others leak on draft picks

 

[Djp]

Just to reiterate a previous post, teams enter the selection at the table but have to wait for the green light to take the podium and make the announcement. There will be a member of the TV crew who'll be standing next to the team while they're on the clock and basically tell them when they're done interviewing the previous prospect, or have returned from commercial, etc. The above clip shows some random suit telling Buffalo "you can go now."

The TV production folks then have a couple minutes to prep for the next pick. When I went to the 2017 Draft, I was seated behind the NBCSN crew and I recall them prepping a highlight package for Cal Foote who wasn't taken yet, vaguely recall thinking "I guess that means he is the next pick" and he was. The cameramen also use that time to scan the crowd and find the prospect for the obligatory reaction shot, that's how they're ready for somebody unexpected like Beckett Sennecke (or Mark Visentin in 2010).

In Marek's case, he would have a couple minutes to prep in case he needed to interview the draftee. Marek was apparently forwarding the info to his buddy / independent scout Mark Seidel. I don't think Seidel was using that info for financial gains, moreso to show off to his Twitter followers that he had inside info.

For comparison purposes I yjkn and ian rapaport was leaking_ posting picks before tv broadcast posted. Other media therr covering held back till announced. They haven't been fired for it.

Therr has to be something more here live with gambling/ pick bets

 

[Djp]

Who is leaking these picks to marek, and what is the point of that?

Do they have to know so that they have a little bit of time to tailor the questions they are going to be asking on air?

He was not getting leaking

ESPN and Rogers were covering the draft. Both had folks who got info on who hot picked before announced to set highlight files on players and fix cameras on families and the pick to see reaction

Mark was part of that because he interviewed players postpick as did someone from espn.

The question is what did he do the 1-2 min ( or more if tv break) before announcement of pick. Dif he share it with a friend. If he shared it with local media of team drafting him might not be an issue

 

[Brodeur]

For comparison purposes I yjkn and ian rapaport was leaking_ posting picks before tv broadcast posted. Other media therr covering held back till announced. They haven't been fired for it.

Therr has to be something more here live with gambling/ pick bets

As others pointed out, I don't think there was enough time for somebody to profit off of it. Seems more like a principle thing.

I forget if Rapoport was directly part of the NFL Network broadcast (out of habit I'll still watch ESPN). But maybe a slight distinction if a reporter learns of it through some sources versus being given the info directly through the league.

I was trying to think of it in a work scenario where say I'm a tech company and one of my employees has loose lips and tells a reporter the specs of our upcoming product and then the reporter posts about it. Versus telling the reporter the info directly since he's helping host the big launch presentation but with the understanding that he's not supposed to share info with anybody before the presentation.

 

[Golden_Jet]

For comparison purposes I yjkn and ian rapaport was leaking_ posting picks before tv broadcast posted. Other media therr covering held back till announced. They haven't been fired for it.

Therr has to be something more here live with gambling/ pick bets

They aren’t the rights holders to the broadcast.
Listen to the athletic podcast with Katie Strang and Dan Robson.

 

[Nogatco Rd]

He was busy trying to ruin the lives of the Canadian women's soccer team for doing something every team in the world does.

Crazy how “well everyone else does it” is seen as a legitimate excuse for cheating these days