Gregg Zaun reveals details behind Sportsnet firing for ‘inappropriate behaviour’

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During his tenure as an in-studio analyst on Rogers Sportsnet for the Toronto Blue Jays, Gregg Zaun never was afraid to call it like he saw it.

Now, eight years after his high-profile firing from the broadcaster, Zaun isn’t afraid to admit his mistakes.

Zaun, a former Blue Jays catcher during his playing days, opened up during a podcast appearance this week about his unceremonious departure, including about the allegations made against him and how greatly they have affected him personally and professionally.

“I definitely made mistakes. I let celebrity get in my head,” Zaun said during Monday’s episode of the Toronto Legends podcast. “I was never as famous in Canada as a player as I was as a broadcaster. I mean, I couldn’t walk down the street.

“My life was turned upside down, ruined. My professional career, ruined,” he added. “I can’t get a job in television. There’s not a lot of forgiveness for people that look like me in this world. And it’s my fault. It’s absolutely my fault.”

While Zaun said that he was “shocked” by the allegations, he also held himself accountable for letting things get too far.

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“There are certain topics of conversation that don’t belong in the workplace. And it’s funny, the biggest mistake that I’ve made is thinking that because a lot of the conversations and exchanges were initiated by females in the workplace that they were somehow OK. That I was somehow justified in participating in those conversations. The tomfoolery, the hijinks. These allegations, they were shocking to me,” Zaun said.

“I was just having fun with willing participants. Yeah, the environment was inappropriate. It was my fault for letting it get as far as it did. I should have been classier and I definitely should be held to a higher level of accountability,” he added.

Several anonymous Sportsnet employees previously told the Canadian Press that Zaun had made sexual comments “with the clear intention of making us uncomfortable.”

During the podcast interview, Zaun said that the network pushed him to become a “Manalyst,” which he described as the “Don Cherry of baseball.”

“Sportsnet created that ‘Manalyst’ guy. They wanted ‘Don Cherry of baseball,’ so I gave it to them,” Zaun said.

But Zaun says he’s capable of more than that sort of role.

“People misunderstand or underestimate my versatility. I can be whatever you want me to be. You want me to be the loud guy. You want me to cause a ruckus. You want me to polarize the fan base. I can do that,” Zaun said.

“Do you want me to just be quiet and go put my head down and be a soldier, and accomplish a list of tasks that you want from me? I can do that too. It’s just easier to blame my past transgressions, my past mistakes, as the reason why you don’t want to have a conversation.”

Zaun, who currently lives in B.C. after splitting with his third wife, says that he has been sober for two years and hopes to get a second chance in the sport he loves – be it in broadcasting or as a coach.