PHILADELPHIA — The Lightning had heard about the comments NESN’s Jack Edwards made during Tuesday’s broadcast making fun of veteran forward Pat Maroon’s weight, and after their 3-1 loss in Boston it didn’t sit well inside the Tampa Bay locker room.
Maroon jabbed back on Wednesday, taking a stand against bullying and body-shaming by posting on social media that he would donate $2,000 in Edwards’ name to Tampa Bay Thrives, a local non-profit that helps those struggling with mental health and substance-abuse issues.
Midway through the first period of Tuesday’s game, Edwards, a longtime Bruins broadcaster and former ESPN SportsCenter anchor not known to pull punches, singled out Maroon by commenting on his listed weight of 238 pounds.
“That was Day 1 of training camp,” Edwards said on air, chuckling throughout a 40-second sequence. ”I have the feeling he’s had a few more pizzas between then and now.”
“And that’s before pregame,” chimed in broadcast partner and color analyst Andy Brickley.
“Inadvertent fasting for Pat Maroon is like four hours without a meal,” Edwards later added before allowing, “but hey, three (Stanley) Cups in a row, who can argue with his formula?”
Maroon responded Wednesday afternoon via his personal Twitter and Instagram accounts.
“In support of those struggling with mental health, bullying and body image I am making a 2,000 donation in the name of @RealJackEdwards to @TampaBayThrives and I encourage @TBLightning and @NHL fans to join me.”
Donations can be made at tampabaylightning.com/donate, Maroon posted.
Within an hour and a half, Maroon’s Twitter post had 20,000 retweets and his Instagram post drew 5,000 likes.
