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“Hockey isn’t a real sport”: an ESPN journalist blurts it out on air
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“Hockey isn’t a real sport”: an ESPN journalist blurts it out on air
Credit: It’s been four years since ESPN took over the rights to broadcast the NHL in the United States. After nearly twenty years on the NBC network, ESPN took over the rights on the heels of the 2021-22 season. And of course, we know how big a player ESPN is in the world of sports media […]
It’s been four years since ESPN took over the rights to broadcast the NHL in the United States. After nearly twenty years on the NBC network, ESPN took over the rights on the heels of the 2021-22 season.

And of course, we know how big a player ESPN is in the world of sports media south of the border.

Because no, ESPN isn’t just about hockey, of course. The media behemoth has its nose in a ton of sports, and it employs journalists to cover it all.

Of the lot, Tim MacMahon covers basketball, as he’s on the beat for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA. And clearly, he doesn’t seem to be a big hockey fan.

Why do I say that? Because this weekend, on The Hoop Collective, MacMahon picked on Texas hockey fans by saying that, basically, hockey “isn’t a real sport”.

Basically, according to MacMahon, hockey fans in the state are following all this “because they don’t know football, basketball or baseball.” He thinks it’s simply a sport for the local “hipsters”… and he even goes so far as to say that hockey fans are stupid.

Nothing less.

Obviously, these are pretty standard remarks… but they don’t come across so well when you consider that MacMahon is an employee of the NHL’s U.S. broadcaster. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean he can’t express his opinion… but we can all agree that he’s got it pretty thick.

Do you think Gary Bettman is happy to see an ESPN employee make such comments publicly? I don’t think so, no.

It’s a bit like Marc Griffin in Quebec calling Canadiens fans stupid on a baseball podcast. And we understand that in Quebec, the pool of people such comments can reach is smaller than in the United States.

I imagine there are people in the ESPN and NHL offices who found this rather ordinary. After all, he directly attacked a clientele that his employer is trying to attract.


In Overtime

– Selke: here’s who put Nick Suzuki on the podium.

– Are we trying to convince him not to go to the NCAA?

– News from Zach Hyman.

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