Gregg Zaun issues statement in response to Sportsnet firing

Gregg Zaun, following his firing from Sportsnet for allegations of inappropriate workplace behavior, issued a statement through his lawyer yesterday apologizing for his actions.

“Without any exception whatsoever, I want to issue an apology for any harm or distress which may have been caused by my comments with any female colleagues over the recent past,” Zaun wrote. “It has never been my intention to give offense to anyone.”

I have done a lot of soul searching over the last few days and know that my ignorance of the harm caused by my language does not excuse it – for which I accept responsibility. While I am well recognized for my unfiltered criticism of others within the sports world, which has made many critics and enemies – in ignorance I allowed a similar attitude to influence all aspects of my lifestyle, causing distress for female colleagues.

For more than ten years now, I have had the privilege of working with the most amazing and talented people and I am agonized to learn that they were affected negatively by me. I apologize deeply to all my colleagues and friends for any offense. I cherish and am proud of our achievements working together.

In the past, when brought to my attention that I demonstrated poor judgement or language and gave offence, I sought to change my behaviour and apologize for any hurt caused. My remorse in the activities drawn to my attention by Rogers this week affecting unnamed individuals, is that it was never raised before and I naively believed that my language and behaviour were not considered offensive. I regret my blindness to the impact of my actions that I would have corrected at the time, rather than allowing the harm felt to continue to fester.

I have been blindsided and emotionally gutted by the allegations and will continue to be regretful.

As I look to the future, I am fortunate enough to be surrounded and supported by family, close friends, and colleagues on whom I will continue to rely and thank for their support.

There isn’t much to draw from the statement. It matches that of others who have faced the same allegations and repercussions.

Zaun does state that this behavior has been brought to his attention in the past, and he alleges that he’s tried to change it. In the very next sentence, Zaun writes that the concerns were not raised before and that he “naively believed that my language and behaviour were not considered offensive.”

Yesterday, the Blue Jays signed pitcher Luis Santos to a minor-league deal with an invite to major-league spring training. Santos, bumped off of the 40-man roster in November, pitched in 10 games in 2017, when he made his major-league debut. He posted an ERA of 2.70.

Other news:

• The New York Yankees officially announced the hiring of former ESPN analyst Aaron Boone as their new manager. Per the New York Post, Boone looked for advice on the transition from none other than Buck Martinez.
• The Chicago Cubs are showing interest in former Blue Jay reliever Brandon Morrow for their vacant closer role.
• Joey Votto, earlier this morning, won the Tip O’Neill Award from the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. It’s the seventh time in eight years he’s won the award.