Daly Calls Former NHL Referee’s Lawsuit Publicity Stunt

NHL Exec VP & CLO Bill Daly “dismissed a discrimination claim by” former referee Mark Faucette as “little more than a publicity stunt,” according to Ken Campbell of the TORONTO STAR. The lawsuit claims that Faucette, who was fired after the ’02-03 season, was discriminated against because he is American. Daly: “This is nothing more than a disgruntled former employee who is being advised by a lawyer who wants to read his name in the paper.” Daly noted that Faucette’s claim was dismissed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. While Faucette’s lawyer, Ray Lee, said that his client received a mid-season grade in ’02-03 that indicated his officiating “was average,” Campbell reports the rating was “average performance in need of some improvement.” Faucette was warned “prior to the season and at mid-season that his performance put him in jeopardy of losing his job.” There is nothing in the NHL’s CBA with its officials that “precludes it from firing an official whose performance is deteriorating, even if he may not yet be among the worst referees in the league” (TORONTO STAR, 10/7).

LABOR: In L.A., Helene Elliott writes the next time Daly speaks with NHLPA Senior Dir of Business Affairs Ted Saskin “may be Tuesday, when they are scheduled to debate on Canada’s TSN network.” Saskin said while there is “no inclination to make a call now,” the NHLPA is not “’going to stand on ceremony’ and outright refuse to initiate talks.” Saskin: “As soon as we get them off a cap, we can talk.” Daly said that the lockout is “not a case of killing the league in order to save it in another form,” adding, “We have to go away and we have to sit down with our players’ association and fix it, and that’s what we’re doing now.” Daly added that he and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman “plan to visit NHL cities to discuss the labor impasse with fans, season ticket holders and reporters” (L.A. TIMES, 10/7).

HEARD OVER THE AIRWAVES: SPORTING NEWS’ Kara Yorio reports Daly admitted during an interview on N.Y. radio last week that the Rangers lose money and said, “There may be reasons why Cablevision is willing to have a $90[M] payroll on the Rangers that causes them to lose money and, as part of the bigger venture, it may add value to the bigger venture.” But in an e-mail to the SPORTING NEWS, Daly wrote, “What I meant to say is that clubs have their own reasons for establishing payrolls at certain levels, even when the level of those payrolls may lead to cash losses at the club level. One of many reasons may be that it is part of a broader corporate philosophy. Again, in a vacuum and in a nonsports-league context, I certainly don’t have a problem with clubs making those decisions” (SPORTING NEWS, 10/11).