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

[Djp]

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.

Work leaks are a much bigger deal.

In govt with classified leaks...if an employer does ot its criminal but someone could do it and get away with it with senior approval for message spin.

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

Yes they own the tv rights to ait the draft. It's part of TV rights contracts.

Since they are paying for this, they want to be the first source because those interested will watch


If they didnt oen the tights, why pause picks for commercial breaks or to set tapes ot cameras.

 

[Golden_Jet]

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

Ya like the 1988 100m final, all 8 runners turned out to be cheaters.

 

[Sinbad]

Marek probably should have stopped sharing to Seider years ago when it was obvious he was leaking the picks

Unless of course you have a young son(s) playing competitive hockey and said scout can repay the favour by pushing your son(s) name in his draft rankings and/or to OHL teams when his draft year comes up.

Seems to me I heard rumours of similar activity a few years ago when another prominent NHL insiders son was selected in the OHL draft.

 

[Devilsfan118]

This just shows you who wears the pants in the marriage between the NHL and sports gambling.

It's pathetic.

 

[Crede777]

What I don't understand is why Sportsnet immediately axed Marek. They didn't even investigate further. He was gone that same evening.

I get that the NHL discovered he was leaking the picks to his friend. And I understand that the league is trying to crack down on leaks largely because of gambling (even in cases like this one which don't directly impact gambling). Also, I understand that Sportsnet is or soon will be renegotiating the television contract with the NHL so they want to stay on the league's good side.

But this really seems like a "we will talk to him and make sure it never happens again" sort of scenario since it doesn't directly impact gambling and he wasn't seemingly profiting off of it.

 

[Nogatco Rd]

What I don't understand is why Sportsnet immediately axed Marek. They didn't even investigate further. He was gone that same evening.

But this really seems like a "we will talk to him and make sure it never happens again" sort of scenario since it doesn't directly impact gambling and he wasn't seemingly profiting off of it.

No way to know whether or not that conversation had happened already. Everyone is speculating as if what’s been reported is the whole story, idk why. Maybe because the “gambling did this” angle is kind of sensational and affirms people’s preexisting disdain for that industry?

 

[JianYang]

What I don't understand is why Sportsnet immediately axed Marek. They didn't even investigate further. He was gone that same evening.

I get that the NHL discovered he was leaking the picks to his friend. And I understand that the league is trying to crack down on leaks largely because of gambling (even in cases like this one which don't directly impact gambling). Also, I understand that Sportsnet is or soon will be renegotiating the television contract with the NHL so they want to stay on the league's good side.

But this really seems like a "we will talk to him and make sure it never happens again" sort of scenario since it doesn't directly impact gambling and he wasn't seemingly profiting off of it.

It could be that Rogers looked at this as an opportunity to slash a senior on air talent's wages off their books.

 

[Quack Shot]

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?

NHL gives the studios they have contracts with information early, so the media can have things prepared for their broadcasts.




Marek in this situation was the source, instead of a journalist reporting leaks that were leaked to them.

What Marek did I’m sure happened every other draft, helping a buddy get their tweets ready, problem was this happened in Vegas and betting is now a thing. Marek will start a new podcast and I’ll listen to that over the other ones.

 

[WTFMAN99]

You never **** with the money.

 

[Five Alarm Fire]

What I don't understand is why Sportsnet immediately axed Marek. They didn't even investigate further. He was gone that same evening.

I get that the NHL discovered he was leaking the picks to his friend. And I understand that the league is trying to crack down on leaks largely because of gambling (even in cases like this one which don't directly impact gambling). Also, I understand that Sportsnet is or soon will be renegotiating the television contract with the NHL so they want to stay on the league's good side.

But this really seems like a "we will talk to him and make sure it never happens again" sort of scenario since it doesn't directly impact gambling and he wasn't seemingly profiting off of it.

My guess at what happened - he was scheduled to leave that night anyways. They told him to take the last podcast off and then there was a formal process until we got the first report in late July.

 

[Byron Bitz]

Do you think TSN will pick him up?

 

[PanniniClaus]

Do you think TSN will pick him up?

I have to believe the NHL will discourage their main partners from bringing him on... for a time anyway. So he may have to make his living on the fringes for a bit.

 

[Golden_Jet]

I have to believe the NHL will discourage their main partners from bringing him on... for a time anyway. So he may have to make his living on the fringes for a bit.

Ya agree, TSN will be bidding on the rights again, so don’t see a hiring there.

 

[tiburon12]

It could be that Rogers looked at this as an opportunity to slash a senior on air talent's wages off their books.

In return they're gonna lose a lot of revenue from listenership to 32 Thoughts and whatever 12pm show goes in its place. Like him or not, Marek is the engine of whatever podcast he is on (so is Whyshynki, which is why MVSW was so amazing), and Sportsnet doesn't have the talent to replace that. No one does.

 

[DieSendungmitderMaus]

I can see why the league is mad at him, I can see why SN fired him, I don't really see why fans would be mad at him. It might've been a bit unethical to the NHL and rights holders, maybe even shady online sports books, but no one should give a shit about their concerns and in the end no one gained or lost anything from it. I think Marek's a good show/podcast host so hoping to hear from him at another place in the near-ish future.

As far as the Ducks pick becoming such public knowledge that it massively tilted the lines- that info came way before hand and couldn't have been anything Marek got through official channels, right? If so, not sure why people are bringing it up here when discussing wether his leaks affected betting.

 

[57special]

Unless of course you have a young son(s) playing competitive hockey and said scout can repay the favour by pushing your son(s) name in his draft rankings and/or to OHL teams when his draft year comes up.

Seems to me I heard rumours of similar activity a few years ago when another prominent NHL insiders son was selected in the OHL draft.

Never underestimate the propensity of sports parents to try to put a thumb, if not a whole hand, on the scales for their kid. I've seen it happen so many times I've lost count. It's also usually for a kid who has no shot to go anywhere... it's parental love turned into something ugly, as it is done at the expense of others, usually.

 

[FerrisRox]

This just shows you who wears the pants in the marriage between the NHL and sports gambling.

It's pathetic.

No, it doesn't.

You have completely misread the situation and arrived at completely unconnected conclusion.

What I don't understand is why Sportsnet immediately axed Marek. They didn't even investigate further. He was gone that same evening.

I would say in all likelihood, Marek was leaking this information by text, and that would all be done on a Sportsnet issued cellphone.

It wouldn't take much investigation at all, it would be very black and white, and there would be no discussion required. What he did was an enormous breach of journalistic ethics. It would be immediate termination.

 

[SJSharksfan39]

I'm bummed by this whole situation and I'm probably done with the 32 Thoughts Podcast now. I loved Jeff's hockey history and wacky ideas and he and Elliote had great chemistry. Hopefully Jeff lands somewhere and is able to do another Hockey Podcast (Like TSN and bring back MvsW) but I guess I will be looking for another Hockey Podcast this fall. Any recommendations that isn't 2 hours long or Spittin' Chiclets?

 

[Osakahaus]

how dare he leak the NHL draft! Doesnt he know that the NHL media needs to milk out how long the draft already takes!

 

[Bull]

I'm bummed by this whole situation and I'm probably done with the 32 Thoughts Podcast now. I loved Jeff's hockey history and wacky ideas and he and Elliote had great chemistry.

To each their own. As a regular listener of the pod also, Marek's style of constant cross-talking over Elliotte when he would try and answer Marek and his boy'ish, candyland dreams of rule tweaks and changes he'd like to see in the game were getting pretty tired.

 

[Tanknation]

Been going on for years I'm sure. Because it was in Vegas, and the house was losing some money, they all the sudden cared about integrity....

 

[SJSharksfan39]

To each their own. As a regular listener of the pod also, Marek's style of constant cross-talking over Elliotte when he would try and answer Marek and his boy'ish, candyland dreams of rule tweaks and changes he'd like to see in the game were getting pretty tired.

I was entertained by it. I wasn't as entertained by the musical numbers for the Mailbag segment but whatever. It's just I will miss that chemistry and I didn't think this version of 32 Thoughts would end so abruptly as it has.

 

[PaulD]

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?

If so , that's weak. For all of the "insiders" and media talking heads. Ask your questions and think on your feet. Are you a pro or not?
And believe us when we say as fans who are listening......your questions don't go from entertaining to brilliant because you had a little tip going into the interview.

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

oldest and weakest deflection there is

 

[FissionFire]

Imagine losing your job over helping someone else get internet likes. What a world we live in.

 

[Brodeur]

If so , that's weak. For all of the "insiders" and media talking heads. Ask your questions and think on your feet. Are you a pro or not?

And believe us when we say as fans who are listening......your questions don't go from entertaining to brilliant because you had a little tip going into the interview.

In his defense, the draft can be hectic in person and the three minutes between picks somehow feels faster than being at home. I went to the draft in Vegas and have been to five others. I didn't bring a reference list with me this year and it can be easy to forget who's still on the board just going off of memory.

I forget if Marek was part of the Sportsnet crew at the Stanley Cup Final but it was an unusually quick turnaround from Game 7 (Monday) to the draft on Friday. So there might not have been as much prep time as usual. Mix in that the event was in Vegas and the high probability that the crew was up late.

An extra minute or two might not seem like much, but even a seasoned pro might need to review talking points. We've seem teams take the podium and goof up the pick announcement (Claude Giroux, Taylor Pyatt, David Reinbacher, Thomas Harley, etc). In the moment, if you don't have the extra prep time, you might blank on a player's junior team / background.

Michael Hage received recognition before the Awards show the night before and I yelled out "Go Blue" as he was leaving the stage since he's an impending Wolverine. Then when I ran into him in the lobby a couple hours later, I had a total brain fart and thought he was Zayne Parekh for some reason. I think I only said a generic "good luck tomorrow" but part of me cringes to think I said something like "congrats on the Memorial Cup."