Yesterday, as Sports Illustrated and others reported, ESPN fired two suspended employees for allegedly engaging in sexual harassment during their previous employment at the NFL Network. How ironic and how hypocritical is that? ESPN is also facing a sexual harassment lawsuit for allowing what its accuser, Adrienne Lawrence, charges is a hostile work environment for women.
ESPN conducted a month-long investigation of Donovan McNabb, the former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback (seen in photo), and Eric Davis, the former San Francisco 49ers' defensive back, for alleged sexual harassment of a co-worker while working at the NFL Network. Jami Cantor is suing the NFL Network and claiming that as a wardrobe stylist there she was sexually harassed by former NFL players Davis, McNabb, Marshall Faulk, Heath Evans, Ike Taylor and Warren Sapp and many other men. Cantor, who was fired for alleged theft at the NFL Network, filed her lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court in 2017.
Cantor filed a modification to her lawsuit in December, and ESPN then suspended McNabb and Davis, leading to the suspension and ultimately the firing.
Cantor alleges that Davis grabbed her and pushed and rubbed his body against her, made lewd comments to her, including: "I want you so bad,” “my c--k is so hard because of you right now,” “you look like a woman who knows what to do in bed,” “you look like you would be an animal in the sheets.” He also asked her to engage in rough sex with him, touched her privates and told her, “I can’t handle your a-- it is so luscious.”
McNabb is accused of sending Cantor sexually inappropriate text messages.
Another former pro football player working at the NFL Network, Heath Evans is alleged to have sent nude pictures of himself to Cantor and made sexual remarks to her.
Former star running back Marshall Faulk allegedly asked Cantor invasive questions about her sex life, fondled her breasts and groped her behind. He also pinned her against a wall while stroking his genitals and demanding oral sex.
Taylor is accused in the lawsuit of having sent a nude video of himself.
Further allegations of the lawsuit charge the NFL Network with requiring Cantor to work in the men's restroom, where former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Warren Sapp urinated in front of her. He also gave her sex toys for Christmas and sent her nude photos of women he claimed to have slept with.
Eric Weinberger, a former executive producer with the NFL Network, is named in the lawsuit for allegedly sending Cantor nude pictures of himself and sexually explicit texts. In one text he wrote she "was put on earth to pleasure me,” and in another he said “watching you walk down the hall makes me crazy, your a-- drives me insane."
Marc Watts, the talent coordinator, made sexual remarks about Cantor's body. She complained to him about unwanted sexual advances she was enduring, and his response was: "It's part of the job when you look the way you do."
The names above are allegedly only the tip of the iceberg. Cantor's lawsuit refers to 50 "DOES" -- unidentified males who committed "despicable" acts against her. She aims to amend the lawsuit when she learns their names.
In response to Cantor's complaints to management, the NFL Network increased her work load and cut her work hours, she claims. She also claims she was given no budget with which to purchase clothing for on-air talent and she had to make purchases with her own credit card. She was fired for stealing clothes from her employer's property, and she claims the NFL Network still uses clothing she personally paid for.
Cantor's suit says her harassers engaged in a "continuing and ongoing pattern and practice of unlawful discrimination and sexual harassment". Like Lawrence in the ESPN lawsuit, Cantor accused her employer of creating a "hostile work environment" and also accused the NFL Network of retaliation, wrongful termination, defamation and unfair labor practices. She is demanding a jury trial.
ESPN and the NFL claim to be champions of equality, women's rights and the gender pay gap, but it looks more and more like it's just cheap talk. Before claiming any moral high ground they need to first clean up their own act.
The accused organizations deserve their day in court; they're innocent until proven guilty. Still, the men named in the lawsuit will always be associated with the NFL, and this is another PR problem for the league. The NFL is already hemorrhaging from unpopular protests and social activism, declining television ratings and criminal behavior by many current and former players.
