ESPN Analyst Facing Criticism for Tasteless Comments About NHL Opening Night
ESPN is meant to be one of the worldwide leaders in sports, but during an ad for the NHL's opening night, an MLB announcer made some tasteless comments.
While the NHL's on ice product is arguably the best in sports, given the niche aspect of the sport, it's no surprise that in terms of popularity in North America, the National Hockey League often ranks below the NFL, NBA and MLB.
However, ESPN has picked up coverage again in recent years, and for the most part, it's brought plenty of eyes to the sport, along with successful things like the Four Nations Face Off earlier in 2025.
ESPN Announcer Called Out For Idiotic Comments on the NHL
With the 2025/26 season right around the corner, fans are getting excited, and during an MLB Playoffs game, ESPN aired an ad for just that, hoping that some fans would tune in once the baseball season comes to an end.
Unfortunately, analyst Ben McDonald decided instead to make some ridiculous on air comments, and no matter how little he cares about hockey, this isn't the time or the place to air that.
«There is zero chance I'll be watching, I'm just gonna be honest with you."
This comes after ESPN paid the NHL $2.8 billion for their rights, and instead of promoting positives around the game, they air people like this that have nothing better to do than disparage hockey during a simple ad read.
It's unclear if McDonald will face any consequences for his comments given how much ESPN gave up for the rights to the NHL, but for now, it's easy to see why ESPN and the NHL would be incredibly frustrated and upset with this situation.
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