More issues for The Worldwide Leader in Sports to deal with. ESPN host Chris Berman has been accused of leaving a threatening and racist voicemail with former SportsCenter host Jemele Hill.
Former ESPN legal analyst Adrienne Lawrence filed the lawsuit. She alleges that while at ESPN she was in a hostile work environment and was sexually discriminated against.
“ESPN is, and always has been, a company rife with misogyny,” it says in the 85-page filing.
Per Breitbart News:
Lawrence specifically cited ESPN host John Buccigross who she claims made unwanted sexual advances toward her.
“After reaching out to her with the promise of mentorship, Buccigross exploited his position of authority over her by calling her ‘doll’ and coercing her to join him for dinner given his limited availability,” Lawrence said of Buccigross’ actions.
For his part, Buccigross has said that he thought he and Lawrence were “friends,” and added “I’m sorry if anything I did or said offended Adrienne. It certainly wasn’t my intent.”
But, along with the claims of her specific case, she also supplied examples of other incidents she says proves the contentions in her lawsuit. One of those incidents is the “threatening and racially disparaging voicemail” she says Berman left for 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 paperwork insists.
Lawrence claims that Hill flagged the phone message to ESPN bosses, but no action was ever taken. Lawrence claims that the lack of action typifies the “sexist” atmosphere at the network.
Since then Jemele Hill has taken to Twitter to respond to these claims. While she did acknowledge a "personal conflict" with Berman, she denies the claims that Berman left a racially charged voicemail.
Re: Chris Berman pic.twitter.com/p7NqjHiV7r
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) March 6, 2018
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