ESPN's sex scandal fallout
With another on-air personality embroiled in a sex scandal, should ESPN fire Steve Phillips to save itself?
ESPN baseball analyst Steve Phillips
(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
ESPN’s reputation as the "Sodom and Gomorrah of sports television" has plummeted further after baseball analyst Steve Phillips, 46, admitted to an affair with fellow-staffer-turned-stalker Brooke Hundley, 22. This isn’t the first sex scandal for either the married Phillips (who took a leave of absence from the New York Mets in 1998) or for ESPN. Does the sports network have a sex problem? (Watch news coverage of Phillips' affair)
The affair was "consensual"—give ESPN a break: The World Wide Leader has been trying for years to "clean up its long-standing image as a post-graduate fraternity house," says Neil Best in Newsday, and this latest incident of inter-office indiscretion "will not help." But the network is hardly the only workplace facing this issue: "Let the first large company that is without sin cast the first blog post."
“Bobby Valentine is in at ESPN, Steve Phillips out (for now)”
The network knew Phillips’ history when hiring him: "Make no mistake, ESPN are enablers here," says Bob Raissman in the New York Daily News. "If they were so concerned about cleaning up their Animal House they would have never hired Phillips." But now it’s hard to see how it can fire him, unless ESPN suits "put very specific morals clauses in his contract"—and given Phillips’ history, "if they didn’t, they are morons."
“ESPN facing dilemma as ex-Mets GM Steve Phillips’ sex scandal with Brooke Hundley surfaces”
ESPN will be forced to clean up its act: "ESPN, whose parent company is Disney, has no choice but to quietly get him out of their ‘family’ for good," says D.S. Williamson in the sports site BetUS. It’s not just the affair—"Phillips put his family in danger by sleeping with "someone as disturbed as Brooke Hundley." We won’t be seeing loose-cannon Phillips for a while. "Mickey Mouse will take care of that."
“Steve Phillips Caught Cheating—Career Likely Done with ESPN”
See the latest on this story: ESPN's curious silence on the sex scandal
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195 Comments
Posted by Ann, Friday, October 23, 2009, 12:41 pm of course he has a sex problem, he is an attractive male in a position of power and women will ALWAYS go for that. so, every guy like him has a SEX PROBLEM duh
Posted by A.D., Friday, October 23, 2009, 12:46 pm What I don't get is that if it's so habitual, why does his wife stay with him? Clean him out, take the kids and get away from this philandering piece of garbage. This is becoming all too common. I'm no religious person an atheist, in fact but if you make a commitment to someone, then you honor it. Your word should be binding. This guy's got no integrity. As for his job at ESPN, if it was just an affair, that'd be one thing...but it's with an employee. That should be enough to get him fired.
Posted by Cameron, Friday, October 23, 2009, 1:05 pm Fire him and drop it. Move on. Old news. He and DLetterman should be canned and forgotten. Perhaps Letterman can have himon his show and they can laugh about abusing women to boost their sad and insecure egos. Why is it OK for Letterman to boink several women, and keep his job, and this guy gets canned? Because his girl toy is a nutty stalker? Give us a break. Fire both of them.
Posted by Kimmie, Friday, October 23, 2009, 2:38 pm Do you really think he is 'attractive'? nah. just insecure and unfaithful. makes him double ugly and unattractive. poor wife and family. fire him.
Posted by John F., Friday, October 23, 2009, 2:45 pm OK, remind me why this is of any import to anyone other than the principals involved?If Philips is to be fired, it should be because he's lousy at his job. Which he is.
Posted by Dr. Nancy A. Gemignani, Friday, October 23, 2009, 3:25 pm If we terminated everyone who is unfaithful in the workplace we would have very few competent personnel doing the job. The wives should look close at what they married and get rid of them. By the way who said the wives are faithful??
Posted by Chandra U. Tiger, Friday, October 23, 2009, 3:37 pm From an attractive woman's perspective, workplace sexual predators target women, if you don't comply or complain, you will be blacklisted and your career tarnished for a lifetime: Title VII is a law but without enforcement just like this latest episode or CBS's Letterman. Likewise, if you opt for the preferential treatment, then you are a toxin in the workplace, morale suffers, productivity plummets as the rumor mill swirls, HR looks like a bad joke for failing to remove one of the parties, and merit based performance becomes jaded by envy.
Posted by A7steed, Friday, October 23, 2009, 4:08 pm Neither have any class or integrity! The wives and companies should can both their butts! What happened to good ole fashion commitment?I was married for 15 years and never once cheating on my wife! Davesstick, no pun intended is old! Time for the old classless bastards to go!
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