A lawsuit against ESPN is saying the worldwide leader in sports fostered a hostile work environment, blaming in part Chris Berman for his interactions with Jemele Hill — charges that Ms. Hill herself quickly rebutted.
According to TMZ, the suit by former ESPN legal analyst Adrienne Lawrence also accuses high-profile host John Buccigross of making “unwelcome advances” against her.
The lawsuit also, in supporting her claim of widespread sexism, cites as an example a purported 2016 incident between Mr. Berman, perhaps the network’s biggest long-term star, and Ms. Hill.
“In early 2016, ESPN’s ‘The Undefeated’ personality Jemele Hill received a threatening and racially disparaging voicemail from Berman on her ESPN phone line,” the lawsuit states.
TMZ did not elaborate on what was “threatening and racially disparaging” in the call.
According to the lawsuit, Ms. Hill, who anchored her final “SportsCenter” episode last month, told the ESPN executive who oversaw Ms. Hill’s then-current show (“His & Hers”) but “nothing was done.”
All that came as a surprise to Ms. Hill, who was disciplined several times by the network for racially inflammatory comments about whites, conservatives and teams with links thereto.
In a statement posted to Twitter on Monday evening, Ms. Hill confirmed that “a few years ago, I had a personal conflict with Chris Berman, but the way this conflict has been characterized is dangerously inaccurate.
“Chris never left any racially disparaging remarks on my voicemail and our conflict was handled swiftly and with the utmost professionalism … and addressed in a way that made me feel like a valued employee.”
Ms. Hill, who specified that she was writing on her own and not under corporate pressure, added that she was “disappointed that someone I considered to be a friend at one point would misrepresent and relay a private conversation without my knowledge – in which I simply attempted to be a sounding board — for personal gain.”
According to Ms. Lawrence’s lawsuit Mr. Berman engaged in other sexist acts without consequence.
The network also dismissed the lawsuit as “entirely without merit” and the work of a disgruntled person who’d failed to make the grade.
“Ms. Lawrence was hired into a two-year talent development program and was told that her contract would not be renewed at the conclusion of the training program. At that same time, ESPN also told 100 other talent with substantially more experience, that their contracts would not be renewed,” ESPN said in a statement.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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