McGuire (l) after the fact said he should have chosen his words better during the Coyne Schofield exchange NBCSN
Gold Medal-winning U.S. women's hockey F Kendall Coyne Schofield defended NBC Sports' Pierre McGuire on Twitter after the veteran analyst was accused of being "sexist and demeaning" during NBCSN's Wednesday telecast of Lightning-Penguins, according to Steve Gardner of USA TODAY. Coyne Schofield: "I've known Pierre McGuire for years. I know he respects me as a hockey player, a woman, and a friend and that is why I didn't think twice about our on-air exchange when it happened. ... If I were watching it at home and saw a man say this to a woman athlete, I would have been offended. But what I also know is how excited Pierre was for me and to be a part of this moment." McGuire in a statement Thursday "conceded he should have chosen his words better but had nothing but respect for Coyne Schofield" (USATODAY.com, 1/31).
NO HARM NO FOUL? THE ATHLETIC's Katie Strang noted many viewers felt McGuire "spoke to Coyne as more novelty than knowledgeable" in their "cringe-worthy exchange." Coyne Schofield, who landed the opportunity after her showing at the NHL All-Star Skills Competition, said, "I was thinking, ‘This is my first opportunity to be on national TV as an analyst. I’m going to make the best of this moment and I want to nail my points that I’m trying to get across. In that moment it wasn’t what Pierre was saying, it was ‘What was Kendall going to say?’” Coyne Schofield was "proud" that she was "unfazed by the moment." After the game, she "saw how people were reacting" and "took more time to review the tape and analyze the interaction further." Sources said that the exchange was a "hot topic of conversation among those in the business, many of whom were curious to see how NBC would handle the situation" (THEATHLETIC.com, 1/31).
NOT A GOOD LOOK: In Chicago, Shannon Ryan writes of McGuire, "On behalf of women everywhere, let me put it bluntly: What the hell, man?" Ryan: "Why on Earth would McGuire expect -- or even joke -- that a player who scored two goals to help the U.S. win a gold medal in 2018 wouldn’t know the difference between two NHL teams? Did anyone explain to Jeremy Roenick what a puck is when he began as an NHL analyst?" Coyne Schofield "does not deserve the disrespect of anyone questioning her knowledge of the sport -- even flippantly." McGuire "blew it and put Coyne Schofield in an awkward position" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/1).
