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NBC was right to fire Jeremy Roenick after inappropriate comments

By Dave Stevenson|
BOSTON, MA - MAY 29: NBCSN's Jeremy Roenick before Game 2 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals between the Boston Bruins and the St. Louis Blues on May 29, 2019, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - MAY 29: NBCSN's Jeremy Roenick before Game 2 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals between the Boston Bruins and the St. Louis Blues on May 29, 2019, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Jeremy Roenick has lost his position with NBC as an NHL analyst for NBCSN. And he has no one to blame but himself.

NHL analyst Jeremy Roenick is a man who is never afraid to voice his opinion. Even if those opinions are extremely inappropriate and uncalled for. Back in December, Roenick made inappropriate and borderline sexist comments about several coworkers, including Kathryn Tappen and Patrick Sharp, which led to NBC suspending him indefinitely.

These comments were made on the popular NHL podcast Spittin’ Chiclets. Tappen released a statement condoning those comments.

Well, that suspension is over, but it’s not because he’ll be returning. Roenick will not be returning to NBC. Roenick had a very successful NHL career, which is why he has a lot of fans. So naturally, people are upset on the internet because of his dismissal, which Roenick announced on his Twitter account.

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The mere fact that he called getting fired “a joke” after making a public apology is pretty darn weak. Roenick apologized to both Tappen and Sharp via a video on his Twitter account, admitting he went way over the line.

So why is it all of a sudden “a joke” for him? This shows Roenick’s apology meant nothing. Apologies without sincerity and without a commitment to righting wrongs are meaningless. Roenick wasn’t sorry he made the comments, he was sorry people found them inappropriate. Two entirely different things.

People are blaming “cancel culture” and “political correctness” for Roenick’s departure. However, it has nothing to do with either. Roenick made extremely inappropriate comments about the people he works with. He alluded to wanting a threesome with Tappen and implied he wouldn’t mind having sex with Sharp.

I’m a guy, so I’m not speaking from experience here, but I imagine those comments would make me feel extremely uncomfortable. They’re certainly not comments I’d want to hear from someone I work with. That’s borderline sexual harassment.

Roenick wasn’t fired because of “cancel culture”. He was fired because he was dumb enough and selfish enough to make those comments. At the very least, Roenick is guilty of betraying his coworkers’ trust. While I have no clue what kind of relationship Tappen and Roenick (or Sharp and Roenick) have, making their personal relationship public is uncalled for. It’s disrespectful to everyone involved.

What Roenick did would get just about any working man fired. If I commented publicly that I wanted to have a threesome with my boss, I’d probably be fired on the spot. I’d be charged with sexual harassment and chances are, I’d have a really hard time finding a new job in my career.

Roenick failed a basic, simple principle – treat your coworkers with the same decency and respect you want to be shown. Also, let’s keep in mind NBC has deservedly come under fire for their past actions. It’s easy to understand why NBC let go of Roenick. And frankly, he should have known better.

The best thing to come from this, though, is the emergence of Patrick Sharp as an analyst. First, let’s get this out of the way, I’m a heterosexual man who has no shame in saying Sharp is extremely pleasant to look at. There, I said it.

Secondly, he has been terrific on camera. His segments have been excellent and even when I haven’t agreed with him, I’ve been able to see where he’s coming from.

Thirdly, much like Roenick, Sharp provides a unique insight into the game as a former player. But unlike him, Sharp can criticize players without making stupid comments. That’s a really tough seesaw to balance and he warrants praise for doing so. Sharp has gotten more airtime with Roenick’s suspension. Hopefully, we’ll see even more of Sharp moving forward.

If you want to blame someone for Roenick getting fired, look at Roenick himself. He could have easily avoided this by not making inappropriate comments. But Roenick made those comments and now he has to live with them.

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