{"id":648879,"date":"2017-03-31T11:01:16","date_gmt":"2017-03-31T15:01:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/?p=648879"},"modified":"2017-03-31T11:01:16","modified_gmt":"2017-03-31T15:01:16","slug":"former-marketing-executive-sues-eugene-melnyk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/former-marketing-executive-sues-eugene-melnyk\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Marketing Executive Sues Eugene Melnyk"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Former<\/p>\n

After years of rumours and stories regarding Eugene Melnyk\u2019s relationship and treatment of employees, one has finally seen the light of day.<\/p>\n

Thanks to the filing of a 23-page claim by Peter O\u2019Leary, the team\u2019s former chief marketing officer and vice-president of ticketing, fans have been provided with a rare and surreal glimpse into the dynamics and inner workings of the hockey club.<\/p>\n

Postmedia<\/em>\u2019s Wayne Scanlan has a fantastic write-up in both local papers (Ottawa Citizen<\/a>, Ottawa Sun<\/a>) chronicling the details of O\u2019Leary\u2019s claim and for Melnyk, the timing couldn\u2019t be worse.<\/p>\n

Not only will this negative PR be distracting for a hockey team that is trying to clinch a playoff berth and make some noise in the first round, news of the claim arrived the night before Melnyk\u2019s inaugural gala in Toronto for \u2018The Organ Project\u2019.<\/p>\n

This filing is centred on the dissonance between O\u2019Leary and the Senators\u2019 owner.<\/p>\n

On one hand, O\u2019Leary is alleging that his firing on December 12, 2016, was a breach of his contract and that Melnyk created a toxic work environment through some abusive behaviour.<\/p>\n

Within the claim, O\u2019Leary\u2019s representatives portrayed a disconnect within the organization\u2019s hierarchy wherein their client received strong performance reviews from then-president and COO Cyril Leeder while Melnyk \u201cat times used profanity and levelled insults at executive team members, including constantly calling into question their competency. Mr. Melnyk sent abusive emails to the executive team and frequently threatened to dismiss them<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

And all this time I\u00a0believed that alleged abusive emails only led to long-time Swedish captains bolting for the Red Wings, hey-o!<\/p>\n

According to the filing, Melnyk\u2019s allegedly blamed O\u2019Leary for the team\u2019s gate revenue and struggles at the box office. In his defence, Melnyk\u2019s representatives will argue that this constitutes just cause for rightful dismissal. Per the Scanlan’s article, “Melnyk signed the termination letter, calling O\u2019Leary ‘dishonest’ and his performance ‘dismal,’ citing absenteeism and a failure to co-operate with outside consultants<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

I don’t know whether there’s any truth to the claims of absenteeism, but considering Melnyk has spent most of his time running the Senators from Toronto and Barbados\u00a0and even allegedly asked O’Leary\u00a0\u201cHow and when did you get the title of Chief Marketing Officer<\/em>?\u201d, he’d be one to know.<\/p>\n

Of course, this team\u2019s disappointing ticket sales aren\u2019t simply a by-product of the marketing department\u2019s decisions \u2013 although, this team\u2019s marketing and brand warrant legitimate criticism.<\/p>\n

The federal government\u2019s Phoenix pay system, the RedBlacks\u2019 Grey Cup run and the accompanying competitive market for entertainment dollars, an oversaturated home schedule in the early portion of the season, the location and game-day experience at the Canadian Tire Centre and general fan apathy have all played a role here.<\/p>\n

Melnyk, of course, has never accepted responsibility for how his words, actions or playoff mandate have not only negatively affected the decision-making of his front office but shaken this fan base\u2019s confidence in him, as an owner, to deliver a winner to this city.<\/p>\n

Although this claim seems destined for a settlement where non-disclosure agreements will stop the flow of information, the damage however is already done.<\/p>\n

Irrespective of how this claim unfolds, there are important items alleged within:<\/p>\n