Jeff Marek reportedly let go from Sportsnet for revealing draft picks
A report from The Athletic says beloved broadcaster Jeff Marek was fired from Sportsnet for revealing draft picks to friends before they were announced publicly
He was quite possibly the most universally liked hockey broadcaster in Canada. However, after 13 years at Sportsnet, Jeff Marek announced in recent weeks that he was leaving. No explanation was given other than he was moving on to new things. However, a report from the New York Times says the beloved hockey broadcaster was pulled off the air over an alleged incident at the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.
The report from Katie Strang states Marek was let go for allegedly letting a friend know which players would be drafted by which teams minutes before the actual announcements were made.
The friend in question is Mark Seidel, a former NHL scout who now runs his own service known as the North American Central Scouting Independent Bureau. The two have known each other for years, and Seidel has appeared on several podcasts with Marek. It was noted that Seidel seemed to have a knack for correctly predicting picks minutes before they were made.
Neither Marek, Seidel, the NHL, Sportsnet, or the Nevada Gaming Commission would comment on the report from the New York Times and The Athletic. Rogers/Sportsnet owns the rights to NHL games in Canada and, as such, is given the names of each draft pick just before they are announced so everyone can be ready to get the proper reactions (this is why the camera is always focused in the right player to get his reaction when his name is announced).
The NYT report says people close to Marek stated he is not known to gamble, and in fact had expressed concern with gambling ads that aired on podcasts he was involved in. Katie Strang also reached out to longtime co-host Elliotte Friedman for comment on the allegations against Marek. He also declined to comment.
| POLL | ||
1 AOUT | 41 ANSWERS Jeff Marek reportedly let go from Sportsnet for revealing draft picks Are you surprised by the report that Jeff Marek, formerly of Sportsnet, allegedly revealed draft picks to a friend? | ||
| Yes | 13 | 31.7 % |
| No | 22 | 53.7 % |
| Not sure | 6 | 14.6 % |
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