Hill said her personal conflict with Chris Berman was handled swiftly and with the utmost professionalismESPN Images
Jemele Hill last night tweeted that longtime ESPN personality Chris Berman “never left any racially disparaging remarks" on her voicemail in '16, "disputing a claim made in a federal lawsuit by a former network employee," according to A.J. Perez of USA TODAY. Hill: "A few years ago, I had a personal conflict with Chris Berman, but the way this conflict has been characterized is dangerously inaccurate. ... Our conflict was handled swiftly and with the utmost professionalism." The alleged incident was "part of a 93-page sexual harassment lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Connecticut on Sunday by Adrienne Lawrence, who worked at ESPN as part of a two-year fellowship program." While Lawrence previously had "made claims regarding others at ESPN, the inclusion of Berman was a new wrinkle to her allegations that ESPN is a toxic work environment for women." Hill also "took Lawrence to task for making her part of the lawsuit." Hill: "I'm more 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." The lawsuit also claims ESPN "regularly uses bots and fake social media accounts to promote its shows, reports and on-air talent," and listed three accounts that allegedly sent "a barrage ... of threats and attacks on social media." But after USA Today reached out to each account, two responses via direct messages "confirmed they were humans not connected to ESPN, and not bot accounts run by automated software" (USA TODAY, 3/6).
NOT GOING AWAY: NBC NEWS' Tim Stelloh reported Lawrence "alleges that male employees kept scorecards for female colleagues and casually watched pornography and made sexually explicit comments." But ESPN said that it "conducted a 'thorough investigation' and found Lawrence’s allegations to be 'entirely without merit.'" ESPN in a statement said, "The company will vigorously defend its position and we are confident we will prevail in court" (NBCNEWS.com, 3/5). In N.Y., Evan Grossman reports Lawrence is "primarily claiming John Buccigross sexually harassed her during the two years she worked in Bristol," and Jonathan Coachman and Bomani Jones are also named in the complaint (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/6). SI.com's Michael McCann takes a look at Lawrence's lawsuit and ESPN's possible defenses.
