Colleagues rally behind Jeff Marek after reason for his firing is revealed
Last week, the hockey media world was shocked by the sudden departure of longtime Sportsnet employee Jeff Marek from the network.
Marek, a respected host, analyst, and insider, is best known for co-hosting the popular '32 Thoughts' podcast with Elliotte Friedman. However, following the first round of the NHL Entry Draft in June, Marek went silent. His social media accounts were inactive, his podcasts stopped updating, and his daily radio show was canceled. A few days later, Marek confirmed online that he was no longer with Sportsnet.
Marek's announcement led to intense speculation among hockey fans online.
"What did he do?""Why would Sportsnet do this?"The only clue came from fellow insider Jonah Sigel of Daily Hive, who vaguely mentioned "draft reasons" for Marek's dismissal. This left fans with more questions, like "WTF does that mean?"
Today, Katie Strang and Dan Robson published an article in The Athletic that revealed the real reason Marek lost his job. It all came down to insider information.
Marek was accused by the NHL and the Nevada Gaming Control Board of sharing insider information about draft selections with outside parties. In other words, he was tipping off his friends.
From The Athletic:
As part of Sportsnet's crew that night, Marek was privy to the draft selections before they were publicly announced. This is common practice for broadcast rightsholders. The production truck is notified of the pick approximately one or two minutes before it's made so that graphics can be prepared, video clips readied and cameras trained on the player about to find out he has been selected.
Also under the Sphere that evening working the draft was Mark Seidel, a former NHL scout with the Minnesota Wild who for the past five years worked in scouting and player personnel roles with the Ontario Hockey League's Barrie Colts. He also runs his own scouting service, branded the North American Central Scouting Independent Bureau (not to be confused with the NHL's Central Scouting Bureau) and has occasionally provided draft content for ESPN.
Seidel and Marek have known each other for years, according to two people with knowledge of their relationship. Seidel has made multiple appearances on podcasts with Marek, including to talk about prospects in advance of the annual draft.
In Las Vegas, Seidel correctly predicted several picks on X, which prompted concerns that Marek had informed Seidel who those teams were picking.
League and media sources said that Marek gave Seidel a heads up on the picks so that Seidel could better prepare and offer analysis of those selections on social media. Professional sports leagues are known to monitor social media during live events such as drafts; it is also common for leagues to partner with external integrity and compliance firms to monitor social media activity.
When contacted by The Athletic, Seidel declined to answer questions on the situation, including why he deleted a number of social media posts he made on the night of the draft.
The NHL and Sportsnet both declined to comment on the matter. Marek did not respond to requests for comment.
- Katie Strang and Dan Robson
So, Marek was feeding insider information to a friend, who then used it to appear more knowledgeable and gain an advantage over others. The NHL didn't like this and reported it to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, which conducted an investigation that raised concerns for Sportsnet.
The reaction from the hockey media world has been mixed. Some of Marek's former colleagues have come out in support of him, saying that Sportsnet acted too harshly. Former Sportsnet employee Sean McIndoe (Down Goes Brown) expressed this sentiment, shared by many in the hockey media community.
It's worth noting that other insiders like Elliotte Friedman and Frank Seravalli regularly share inside information. Seravalli even leaked picks during the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft without facing penalties. From that perspective, some believe Sportsnet may have overreacted.
This incident highlights the significant impact of the sports betting world on hockey. It will be interesting to see how Marek addresses these allegations and how it affects his career moving forward. So far, he has not commented on the matter.
Credit: hockeyfeedColleagues come to Jeff Marek's defense after it's revealed why he was fired
| POLL | ||
1 AOUT | 90 ANSWERS Colleagues rally behind Jeff Marek after reason for his firing is revealed Do you think Sportsnet went too far with the firing of Jeff Marek? | ||
| Yes | 61 | 67.8 % |
| No | 29 | 32.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
