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ESPN took another hit today as The Boston Globe published a detailed report about the company being terrible place to work if you’re a woman. It covers everything from the failed Barstool partnership, female anchors losing opportunities because they got pregnant, and, of course, accusations against notable on-air talent.
Former employee Adrienne Lawrence claims John Buccigross sent her numerous unwanted shirtless selfies accompanied with hashtags like: #dollface and “longlegs”:
Lawrence accused John Buccigross, a longtime SportsCenter anchor who she viewed as a mentor, of sending unsolicited shirtless photographs of himself and calling her “dollface,” “#dreamgirl,” and “#longlegs” in messages from 2016 reviewed by the Globe. Lawrence said she tried to remain cordial in the messages but at one point responded: “You need to wear clothes, sir.”
The report notes Lawrence complained about Bucci’s behavior but was advised to let the harassment go. Bucci had a response for his behavior:
“I considered Adrienne to be a friend,” Buccigross said in a statement to the Globe. “I’m sorry if anything I did or said offended Adrienne. It certainly wasn’t my intent.”
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Fantasy footballers will be disappointed to learn their crutch, Matthew Berry, noted “Talented Mr. Roto”, allegedly took Jenn Sterger to a strip club without her knowledge:
The strip club outing was not a formal ESPN activity, but it followed a dinner with company employees and involved several male job candidates. Sterger said she initially did not realize where they were going and she was teased about being uncomfortable once there.
Sterger and Berry say they were both admonished for the strip club outing, but Sterger did not get a job at ESPN while Berry did. ESPN said it chose another woman who had more experience, though an e-mail from the network at the time also said Sterger could have improved her chances by showing “more professional behavior.” Berry is now ESPN’s senior fantasy analyst and one of the most influential personalities in fantasy sports.
Today, Berry said visiting the strip club “was not a smart decision and I regret going.” He described a photo from that work trip in which he is pointing at Sterger’s breasts as “personally embarrassing and I did not mean any offense.”
Sterger further accuses Berry of making lewd comments towards her a few years later during a prospective job visit. TMR denies these comments ever took place:
Sterger said she had another uncomfortable encounter with Berry two years later, claiming that Berry made sexual comments when she visited ESPN to talk about a potential job opportunity — an accusation that Berry denies. When asked whether he had ever been suspended or disciplined for inappropriate behavior, Berry said, “I was talked to once about an alleged issue in 2007, which was ultimately resolved.”
This definitely wasn’t the story ESPN was hoping for given they just suspended Donovan McNabb (asked Jami Cantor if she squirts) and Eric Davis (both verbal and physical harassment towards Cantor) after being named in the NFL Network lawsuit.
[Boston Globe]
