Sports anchor fired over true marriage tweet taking Rogers to human rights tribunal
Damian Goddard, the sports anchor fired by Rogers Sportsnet last month after tweeting his support for true marriage, is set to take the broadcaster before a human rights tribunal.
Damian Goddard
“I am taking my case against Rogers Communications Inc. to a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal,” he told LifeSiteNews in an e-mail Wednesday.
The former host of “Connected” had tweeted May 10th his support of Burlington hockey agent Todd Reynolds, who created a stir when he criticized New York Rangers hockey star Sean Avery for shooting a TV ad backing gay “marriage.”
“I completely and wholeheartedly support Todd Reynolds and his support for the traditional and TRUE meaning of marriage,” Goddard tweeted.
He also voiced support for U.S. Olympic gold medalist Peter Vidmar, who resigned as chef de mission for the 2012 U.S. Olympic team after homosexual activists created a controversy over his support for true marriage.
Sportsnet had distanced themselves from the comments on their own Twitter account, and then announced that Goddard had been fired without specifying the reasons.
“Mr. Goddard was a freelance contractor and in recent weeks it had become clear that he is not the right fit for our organization,” said Sportsnet spokesman Dave Rashford in a statement.
“While Rogers has argued that I was not the right fit for the organization, the truth of the matter is that just a week before my dismissal I was given a ringing endorsement for the job I had done up to that point,” Goddard told LifeSiteNews.
“Also, a mere hours after I had tweeted in defense of marriage on May 10th, I was called in to work for a meeting. While I was unable to make it in for the meeting, as I was looking after my 4 and 2 year old kids, I was promptly terminated from my position as a Rogers Sportsnet anchor 24 hours after my initial tweet.”
He said he will be releasing an official statement Thursday, and will appear on The Michael Coren Show Thursday evening.
