NBC Sports Analyst and Chicago Blackhawks club legend Jeremy Roenick has been suspended indefinitely, without pay, for sexual comments made about his co-workers, NHL Analyst and Notre Dame sideline host Kathryn Tappen and Patrick Sharp. Roenick appeared on a Barstool Sports podcast (so obviously he was well aware of what directions the conversations might go), and he ended up making some remarks that have gotten him in major trouble.
Roenick has not officially commented on the suspension, but a NBC spokesperson said the 49-year-old NHL veteran of 20 years has been disciplined “for making inappropriate comments about his co-workers.”
Roenick appeared on Barstool’s “Spittin’ Chiclets” podcast, where he found himself making extremely inappropriate (to say the least) comments about his colleagues Tappen and former teammate Sharp. Tappen has since issued the following statement: “While Jeremy and I continue to be good friends, what he said was unacceptable, especially among workplace colleagues. I do not condone his comments.”
We’re still awaiting public comment from Sharp.
The CNN report, by Wayne Sterling and Darran Simon, transcribed some of the more salacious comments Roenick made about Tappen, who he said is a very close friend of both he and his wife, Tracy.
Roenick said that if he was going to have a threesome with Tappen and his wife, it “would really be good, but it’s never going to happen.”
Of Sharp, Roenick said he was “so beautiful” and that he wouldn’t say no right away to the idea of having sex with him. Calling his comments “highly sexualized” would be well, a tremendous understatement.
Roenick recalled a summer trip to Portugal with Tappen and his wife. Transcript via CNN:
“I was the king of Portugal,” Roenick said.
“When you walk into every place and you have two blonde bombshells on each side … your chest pops out a lot more.”He said a woman approached him, his wife and Tappen when they were swimming in the hotel pool and asked if the two women were with him. Roenick said he replied, “yes, they are.”
“And then Kathryn says, ‘Will you shut up?’ She starts yelling at me,” Roenick said. “I play it off like, you know, we’re going to bed together every night, the three of us. “Now, if it really came to fruition that would really be good, but it’s never going to happen,” he said.
Roenick said his wife and Tappen, who are close friends, “scream and yell at me, but listen, it’s worth the yelling. There’s no question,” Roenick said.
Tappen, a veteran of NHLN and NESN, replaced Alex Flanagan as the Notre Dame on NBC sideline reporter in 2014, the same year she got divorced from her then husband, former New Jersey Devils defenseman Jay Leach.
Tappen, who married Leach in ’09, was an accomplished cross country athlete during her collegiate years at Rutgers. Roenick is no stranger to controversy, as being candid has always been a major component of his brand. He’s often made headlines for antagonizing numerous targets, including his fellow Trump supporting and staunch Republican former Chicago athlete Jay Cutler.
However, this time, he may have finally gone too far and now his career is in serious jeopardy. Or at least his near decade long run on NBC could be coming to an end.
In regards to Sharp, Roenick said the following about the idea of maybe sleeping with him: ”He is so beautiful. I’d have to think about it if he asked me.”
“Oh God, yeah,” one Barstool host responded.
“I wouldn’t say no right away,” Roenick said.
Roenick went on to also say that Sharp is one of the all-time greatest guys he’s ever known. He also extensively praised Tappen’s professionalism and sports acumen.
Then, in what is perhaps the very best definition of irony that you’ll ever see, the man who sored 513 goals and 703 assists in 1,363 games for a total of 1,216 points said he tries to watch what he says: “because of my boss … and because of NBC.”
So much for that!
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
You can follow Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com on Twitter here and his cat on Instagram at this link.