Vegas Golden Knights Players Are Put in the ‘Penalty Cubicle’ at the ESPN Offices in Latest Spot

The Vegas Golden Knights and ESPN SportsCenter anchor Steve Levy are at it again inside the ESPN offices, but this time they’re in trouble. No, it wasn’t for overrunning the dishwasher following a recent ‘This is SportsCenter’ commercial, but high sticking, slashing, and how you send company-wide emails are all infractions against company guidelines. 

In the spot, 'Penalty Cubicle', Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault joins teammate Jack Eichel in the office-based penalty cubicle. Marchessault for slashing, Eichel for high sticking. Moments later Levy walks in. What’s he in for?

“I replied all to a company-wide email,” Levy said. After a sigh from the Vegas duo, in walks University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) mascot Josephine Bruin. Who knows what she was in for, but it couldn’t have been as rough as Levy’s reply all.

The commercial debuts ahead of the Golden Knights vs. Philadelphia Flyers game, which airs at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN Plus. This is the second This is SportsCenter commercial this month featuring the Stanley Cup Champion Golden Knights, and it isn’t by mistake.

“With the NHL season in full swing we are excited to premiere a second spot with the reigning champions Vegas Golden Knights into our iconic This is SportsCenter campaign. This one truly captures the charm we’ve created over the years,” said Seth Ader, vice president of brand marketing. “High sticking and slashing are judgment calls, but replying all to a company-wide email will get you sent straight to the penalty cubicle.”

Said Andrew Kong, Arts & Letters Creative Co. creative director: “Sometimes, you know a spot is good in the edit bay. Other times, it’s during the shoot when ESPN asks if they can keep the penalty cubicle as a permanent fixture in the office.”

Dating back to late 2022, ESPN has released four different This is SportsCenter commercials – outside of the aforementioned ‘Dishwasher’ spot – featuring prominent athletes such as United States Women’s Track & Field star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and United States Women’s National Team soccer players Megan Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn, and Sophia Smith, with SportsCenter anchors Elle Duncan, Hannah Storm, Kevin Neghandi, and Jay Harris.

These spots in order of debut are: “Orange Slices,” “Performance Evaluation,” “Stoppage Time,” and “Seconds.” Other spots anticipated to launch in the coming months include commercials with Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum, PGA Tour golfer Jon Rahm, and MMA fighter Brandon Moreno.