Hockey commentator Jeremy Roenick is firing back at NBC Sports, accusing his former employer of discriminating against him for being straight.
Roenick was fired by NBC Sports back in February after he made sexually suggestive remarks about colleagues Kathryn Tappen and Patrick Sharp on a podcast. Now Roenick has filed a lawsuit against the network in New York Supreme Court, claiming wrongful termination and discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation, according to our sister site Variety.
Roenick’s lawsuit states that figure skating commentator Johnny Weir made “colorful commentary” about skaters’ body parts for NBC Sports during the 2018 Winter Olympics, and when Roenick asked his supervisor about that, the supervisor responded that Weir “is gay and can say whatever.” Roenick’s suit also points to a promotional video featuring Weir and on-air partner Tara Lipinski that included vulgar language; Weir and Lipinski were not suspended or fired.
Roenick also claims that he was fired because the network was retaliating against him for his support of President Donald Trump. When he asked for permission to speak at the 2016 Republican National Convention, he alleges he was told: “You know who you work for. You work for NBC. That would not look good on your NBC record.”
A nine-time NHL All Star who retired in 2009, Roenick joined the NBC Sports team as a commentator and studio analyst the following year. Roenick was suspended and eventually fired for comments he made on a podcast about Tappen and Sharp. Roenick recalled a trip to Portugal that he and his wife Tracey took with Tappen and implied he wanted to have a threesome with her. He also called Sharp “so beautiful” and added that “I wouldn’t say no right away” if Sharp invited him to bed.
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