Back in January, then-Flyers forward Simon Gagne scored a goal in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The goal didn’t count, though, because FSN Pittsburgh and producer Lowell MacDonald Jr. withheld from showing a camera angle that definitively proved that Gagne had scored, thus keeping that angle from NHL officials in Toronto.
Here’s how we explained the issue at the time:
The integrity of the game.
That’s the issue at hand in this incident between FSN Pittsburgh, their producer Lowell MacDonald Jr., and the NHL’s video replay system. The network deserves kudos for suspending MacDonald, showing that they won’t accept the egregious violation that occurred when the FSN technical crew covering last Thursday’s game decided not to broadcast replay that conclusively proved Simon Gagne scored a goal until after an irreversible decision was made on the play.
MacDonald’s decision kept that replay from NHL officials in Toronto, leaving them only with video that couldn’t prove Gagne scored.
Yeah, phrases like “the integrity of the game” were thrown around at the time (and not just by us — by FSN and the Pens themselves, too). This was a big deal, and there’s no reason why MacDonald should ever have the privilege of stepping into a control room during an NHL broadcast again.
That’s not going to happen, though. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, MacDonald has his job back. Just in time for the 2010 season. So much for justice.
