Former ESPN analyst Adrienne Lawrence has filed a new lawsuit against the network claiming her sexual harassment complaints against SportsCenter host John Buccigross and others dating back to 2015 were not addressed — instead, she was fired in 2017. According to the New York Post, the suit reads, “ESPN is, and always has been, a company rife with misogyny” and goes on to detail incidents of employees naming female colleagues they are targeting for sex and openly watching pornography in the office. Other accusations printed by the Boston Globe last year said Buccigross had called Lawrence “dollface,” “#dreamgirl,” and “#longlegs” in text messages and that he had sent an unsolicited shirtless picture while making other unwelcomed advances. Elsewhere in the lawsuit, as TMZ Sports reports, Lawrence says Chris Berman once left a “threatening and racially disparaging voicemail” for anchor Jemele Hill, which ESPN also did nothing about. Incidentally, news of this latest lawsuit comes as ESPN named James Pitaro as its new president earlier today.
UPDATE: Jemele Hill has released a statement saying that Lawrence is characterizing the disagreement with Berman. Here is her statement:
A few years ago, I had a personal conflict with Chris Berman, but the way this conflict has been chracterized is dangerously inaccurate. Chris never left any racially disparaging remarks on my voicemail and our conflict was handled swiftly and with the utmost professionalism. I felt as if my concerns were taken seriously by ESPN and addressed in a way that made me feel like a valued employee. Frankly, 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.
UPDATE 2: ESPN has released a statement:
“We conducted a thorough investigation of the claims Adrienne Lawrence surfaced to ESPN and they are entirely without merit. 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. The company will vigorously defend its position and we are confident we will prevail in court.”
