Jack Edwards issues statement on his comments about Pat Maroon’s weight

BOSTON — Bruins play-by-play man Jack Edwards always has a lot to say. But he had remained silent about his controversial comments from Tuesday night, when he poked fun at the weight of Lightning forward Pat Maroon during Boston’s 3-1 win over Tampa Bay.

That silence ended on Friday.

Unprompted, Edwards took a few shots at Maroon being listed at 238 pounds, saying that weight must have been from Day 1 of training camp. He added that Maroon “had a few more pizzas” since the season started, among other jabs regarding his weight.

Those comments obviously didn’t sit well with Maroon and many others around the NHL. In a statement to The Athletic on Friday, Edwards said that he did not mean to offend Maroon or anyone else.

“I am sensitive to the subject of body image and I didn’t intend to offend anyone,” said Edwards. “In the course of a two-and-a-half hour broadcast, it was a light-hearted attempt to point out that Pat Maroon, who I also regularly praise for his camaraderie with teammates through the years, uses his size to be a difficult competitor. He’s an effective player with three Stanley Cup rings — something I also made it a point to say Tuesday night. I have reached out to the Lightning to connect with Pat.” 

Maroon is turning the situation into a positive. On Wednesday, he responded to Edwards’ comments by making a $2,000 donation in Edwards’ name to the Tampa Bay Thrives, a nonprofit that assists people struggling with mental health and substance use. Maroon has asked others to donate to the cause, and as of Thursday, the movement has raised over $50,000 for the group.

The Lightning forward spoke to The Athletic about Edwards’ comments, which he said were “uncalled for” and “unnecessary.”

“You just don’t talk bad about someone like that for a minute straight, for no reason,” Maroon said. “I get it — if we’re out on the ice and guys are chirping and guys are doing those things, that’s part of hockey. That’s part of it. But someone on national TV when (potentially) millions of listeners are watching or tuned in, and he just basically cut me down. Uncalled for, unnecessary. I don’t understand why he did that. But it is what it is. It’s over, it’s done. And we turned a negative into a positive.”