Once a trailblazer for sports reporting, ESPN's reputation has taken a hit over the years. Their ratings have sharply decreased with the rise of the internet and their content is becoming increasingly mundane. Instead of the good old days of sports highlights, the Disney-owned network is creeping into more opinionated sports commentary, rather than actual sports. There are also far more alternatives than ever before, so ESPN has fallen behind the competition in various areas.
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With the network stuck in some expensive television deals with the NCAA, NBA, NFL, and MLB, their cashflow has started to dry up. In 2017, they had to lay off hundreds of employees; both behind-the-scenes workers and on-air personalities. Something fishy is going on over in Bristol, Connecticut! In addition to all the layoffs, it seems that every other day, a former employee of the network is coming forward with allegations of inappropriate conduct taking place in Bristol, and at the various ESPN studio locations around the country.
Today, we dive into some of ESPN's biggest scandals of all-time, as told by current and former staff members. Da-na-na, Da-na-na: It's time to for today's "Not So Top 15" surprising confessions from ESPN employees.
15 Colin Cowherd Rips ESPN
Polarizing sports personality, Colin Cowherd, hasn't always had the nicest things to say about his former employer. On his podcast, FS1's Speak For Yourself, Cowherd took to the airways in May 2017 to bash ESPN's impeding layoffs, spilling an unspoken truth.
“What is undoing ESPN and is not spoken about, is no one wants to live in rural Connecticut.”
The Herd host even went on to explain why Mike Greenberg, half of ESPN's long-standing morning tandem Mike & Mike, was leaving the show.
“Why? Because he was furious. They were going to move it to New York and they pulled the rug out from under him."
This wasn't the only time that Cowherd spilled the beans about ESPN. After he left the network, he bashed them for their conservative stance on sports gambling, since Disney is supposed to be a family-friendly network.
Whether it's just resentment or the truth, those are some shocking confessions.
14 Ed Werder Dishes On 'Quality Of Work'
Longtime NFL reporter Ed Werder was a victim in ESPN's May 2017 layoffs. He was one of approximately 100 front-facing employees that got the ax. Speaking candidly on the situation shortly afterwards on his podcast, Werder shed some light on the network's mass-exodus.
Our good friend Mort [Chris Mortensen], who was a good friend, after the season had told me that his understanding was these cuts were going to be made and the quality of work was not going to be a consideration.”
So, ESPN lays off hundred on-air personality at random? Perhaps they just dumped whoever made the most? Clearly, something doesn't seem right.
Furthermore, ESPN asked Werder to continue to work through the NFL Draft even after he was laid-off! The reporter intelligently rejected his former employers offer of free work at the time, but has since appeared sparingly on-screen for the sports conglomerate.
13 Houston Rockets Beat Writer Sheds Light On Salaries
ESPN's Houston Rockets beat writer, Calvin Watkins, was among the first hundred-or-so employees to be let go last spring. But, just before Christmas time, the network decided another round of layoffs were imminent, leaving others on the chopping block.
Watkins gave some advice to these potential free agents, stating...
“People are almost afraid to talk to you about jobs because they think you’re making $2 million a year at ESPN. They think they can’t afford you.”
Shocking isn't it? We grew up believing that these reporters were making giant paychecks, but it turns out they are under-paid just like everyone else. According to glassdoor.com, ESPN journalists only earn $50K-$60K per year on average, while reporters took home a little bit more at $85K. Still, you would think these employees would be making at least six figures!
12 Fraud And Extortion Scandal
This next scandal is a little complicated, so follow closely. Former ESPN Columnist and gambling guru, Sarah Phillips, was exposed to be a con-artist and a fraud. Per an extensive report from Deadspin in 2012, it turned out that Phillips was using different identities within her articles, leading readers to believe something fishy was going on.
So, Phillips and her partner, Nilesh Prasad, were luring aspiring writers with the bait that she had an ESPN column. They would convince the writers to fork over the password to their social media page, which already had thousands of followers, in return for a future spot on Phillips' sports comedy website.
She hijacked her victims' followers to promote her ESPN content, driving more content to their sports comedy site, making more revenue in the process.
While the legality of the scam is murky, the couple did break the law when Phillips steered some followers to Prasad, who was posing as a bookie and never paying out their winnings.
There is a lot more to the story that we can't cover today, but in the end, ESPN let got of their freelance columnist and came under fire for their hiring practices.
11 Michael Wilbon Sounds Off On ESPN's "News" Pieces
The Disney-owned network has been under fire in recent years for pushing fluff pieces instead of attacking hard-hitting sports stories. Rather than reporting the news, they are making it up themselves in hopes to engage whatever viewers want to see. Okay, so maybe that's every news network, but still, ESPN's content has undoubtedly been on the decline as of late. Heck, they would rather talk about the lesser-Ball brothers playing in Lithuania rather than show a hockey highlight!
Well, not all employees are happy with the lack of journalism across the airwaves, more specifically, ESPN's lopsided focus on LaVar Ball and his ridiculous antics. PTI host, Michael Wilbon, sounded off on the wannabe-Baller after his son, Lonzo, got shutdown in the season opener. Wilbon took a jab at his employer, stating "that’s editorial malpractice" to give LaVar any air time. For once, we agree with Wilbon!
10 Suzy Kolber Relives Joe Namath Interview
You all know by now about the famous 2003 interview where drunk Joe Namath tried to hit on Suzy Kolber, leaning creepily over to the reporter and saying, "I wanna kiss you." You all probably know that Namath quickly apologized for the incident, citing alcohol was a major factor.
What you may not know is that the incident took a toll on Kolber, who waited nearly a decade to speak openly about that fateful night.
In a 2012 interview with USA Today, Kolber said that she figured out quickly that Namath was drunk.
“I felt like, uh-oh, Joe is in trouble here ... Let’s get him out of it… Get him off the air as quickly as possible."
Like a true professional, Kolber looks back on the incident from a professional standpoint, feeling sorry for Joe, rather than holding a grudge.
9 Tony Kornheiser Is Not A Hannah Storm Fan
The ageless SportsCenter anchor, Hannah Storm, is usually a delight to watch on-screen, although sometimes her outfits can be little... gawdy. Take for example this get-up: red blouse, tablecloth skirt, and red hooker-boots. Maybe the outfit is a little much, but nothing too bad, right?
Well, fellow ESPN host, Tony Kornheiser, may have confessed a little too much about Storm and her wardrobe back in February 2010. On his radio show, the current PTI host said:
"Hannah Storm in a horrifying, horrifying outfit today. She’s got on red go-go boots and a catholic school plaid skirt...
...She looks like she has sausage casing wrapping around her upper body"
ESPN didn't take too kindly to those remarks, suspending Kornheiser for two weeks for the incident.
8 'I Pretend I'm A Democrat'
Paraphrasing from the Declration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson once wrote that their should be a separation between sport and state. Okay, maybe that's not the what he wrote, but it does seem that ESPN has gotten more political these days.
Whether you go towards and against the network's beliefs, the one thing we can all agree upon is that they exist.
An outspoken NFL analyst, Clay Travis (who has never worked for ESPN), outlined the rise of ESPN's politics in on his website Outkick The Coverage. He managed to get a hold of a few anonymous ESPN employees that weren't too happy about the network's favoritism, with one of them saying...
“I pretend I’m a Democrat so I can keep my job here. And there are others just like me. We’re like a secret society inside ESPN.”
While the validity of the source is questionable, the truth is that party lines transcend every aspect of our culture.
7 Chris Berman Speaks About His Late-Wife
Love him or hate him, Chris "Boomer" Berman is one of the most recognizable faces on ESPN. He has been with the network since 1979, and still exudes a youthful vigor during his broadcasts. Unfortunately for Berman, his loving-wife of 33 years, Katherine, passed away in May 2017 after suffering a serious car accident. The sports world was shook, and Berman later recalled the moment he learned of the tragedy on Adam Schefter's podcast...
“I got a troubling call right around the start of the game was still downstairs in the Giants locker room. No one really could say, but at that point I knew it was something really bad, and it pertained to Kathy."
Berman continued to relive that horrifying day, praising the Mets and Giants for being so kind in his time of need. Although his voice was trembling, he finished by saying...
“I always wondered why the grenades never landed right near us, you know? They’re landing [around] people you know left and right for no reason. In this case, we got hit pretty hard.”
Truly a sad and shocking confession from an all-time great sportscaster.
6 Anchor Forced To 'Work Through' Miscarriage
ESPN anchor, Sarah Walsh, was amid the hundred-or-so on-air personalities that were canned in spring of 2017. Walsh had just given birth to twin boys in January 2017, and had just returned from maternity leave when she got laid-off.
Now not employed by the network, Walsh was finally able to get something off her chest.
Per the Boston Globe, Mike McQuade, who is now the vice president of SportsCenter, always questioned Walsh's commitment to the job, leaving her to constantly worry about her job status. This led to a troubling situation for Walsh, who was three months pregnant back in 2014. She still hadn't told anyone yet and while she was on the road in Tuscaloosa for Sportscenter when the unthinkable happened: she had a miscarriage.
Posting to Instagram in May 2017 to tell her story, Walsh said:
"The juxtaposition of college kids going nuts behind our set, while I was losing a baby on it, was surreal. I was scared, nobody knew I was pregnant, so I did the show while having a miscarriage.”
Wow. That takes guts and bravery to come forward to the world with that confession. Kudos to you Sara, and let's hope the network executives have changed their demanding ways!
5 Katie Nolan Gets Political
Sports Emmy Award winner, Katie Nolan, is a rare mixture of beauty and brains. In October 2017, the former FS1 employee signed on with ESPN, appearing on podcasts and Sportscenter. She even hosts her own show, Sports? with Katie Nolan.
Although, the beautiful television personality came under scrutiny recently while appearing as a guest on Viceland's show, Desus & Mero. After talking about her new job at ESPN, Nolan went on to talk about President Trump. While her words were bleeped out, many have deduced from her lips that Nolan called the commander-in-chief "f---ing reta---" which she soon corrected to "f---ing stupid person."
While she wasn't representing the network during the interview, Nolan was still scolded for her comments. According to a rep for the network, they addressed Nolan's inappropriate comments with her, but chose not suspend her for the incident.
4 Jemele Hill Speaks Out As Well
The same couldn't be said for Jemele Hill. The former SC6 host has been no stranger to voicing her opinion. In September 2017, Hill bashed the president for his racist comments, calling him a "white supremacist." Even the president weighed-in on the issue, tweeting out that "ESPN is paying a really big price for its politics..." and calling for her termination.
Hill apologized for misrepresenting her employer over Twitter, and ESPN did not suspend the anchor... yet.
In October, Hill ranted over Twitter about Jerry Jones' response to the sweeping NFL national anthem protests. The executives in Bristol had enough, and suspended Hill for two weeks for her comments.
The 42-year-old sportscaster has since left SportsCenter for the company website, The Undefeated, which has a more culturally-minded focus. To this day though, Hill has stood by her comments as "personal beliefs," refusing to back down from critics.
3 Dipping The Pen In Company Ink
Former Mets Executive and ESPN baseball analyst, Steve Phillips, was caught up in one of the network's biggest scandals ever. It started as Phillips approached 22-year-old production assistant, Brooke Hundley, at a staff party after the 2009 Home Run Derby in St. Louis. One strong drink led to another, and with Phillips' creepy persistence, the two eventually began having an affair.
The New York Post caught wind of the scandal, plastering it over the cover of every paper. ESPN fired Phillips, his wife left him as well, and he sued his former employer for defamation.
In the courtroom and through the depositions of everyone involved, we come to one of the most shocking confessions about the sports industry in general.
Hundley's boss, ESPN production coordinator Joya Caskey, knew about the brief affair, and gave the young production intern a lesson about sleeping with her co-worker:
"This is television. That's what happens. It goes with the industry."
A shocking truth in today's age, but a truth nonetheless.
2 ESPN President Resigns Citing Substance Abuse
In December 2017, John Skipper resigned from his duties as ESPN's President. While you may speculate that the network's financial troubles, or low ratings, played a role in his exit, you'd be wrong. In a resignation statement, Skipper said:
"I have struggled for many years with a substance addiction. I have decided that the most important thing I can do right now is to take care of my problem.
Okay, so maybe not as shocking as you would have hoped, but recent details have discovered that substance abuse wasn't the only reason he left ESPN.
Skipper just recently told the Hollywood Reporter that a dealer attempted to extort him after he purchased some white powder.
"They threatened me, and I understood immediately that threat put me and my family at risk, and this exposure would put my professional life at risk as well."
And that is why Skipper is no longer the skipper at ESPN.
1 Those Guys Have All The Fun
The sports media industry has always run rampant with sexism since it's dominated by men. But, in the 2011 exposé Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN, by James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales, it seemed that the 'Worldwide Leader In Sports' was taking things to the another level. We'll go over a few instances from the book, but give you the abridged versions.
There were breakfast screwdrivers and martini lunches, followed by country club dinners. There were secretaries who funded their habits by 'turning tricks' with anchors. Even broadcaster Mike Tirico was suspended for three months without pay for lunging his hand through a car window at a female employee's legs as she was trying to drive away. Crazy!
On top of all that, a former ESPN executive told the authors that Christmas parties got way out of hand!
"It became like a big frat party. There were a lot of (things) being done in the bathroom. There was quite a bit of 'activity' going on afterward, a lot of it extramarital.”
We like to think that Dan Patrick kept a 'naughty list!'