WWE: Jonathan Coachman accused of sexual harassment by former ESPN employee, Chris Berman and others named -- (edited)
Posted by
Remlik (aka remlik)
Mar 5 '18, 18:25
|
Jonathan Coachman has been named in a lawsuit by former ESPN anchor and legal analyst Adrienne Lawrence, accusing him of sexual harassment. The New York Post reports filed a sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit against the network on Sunday, alleging that Coachman, Chris Berman, Bomani Jones and others were involved in sexually harassing female employees.
According to the site, the suit says that Coachman used what it called the “ESPN predators’ playbook” by making contact with her under the pretense of mentoring her, and then made romantic overtures. Lawrence says that when she brought it to ESPN executive Jack Obringer, he guessed it was Coachman without being told and said that Coachman has sexually harassed other female employees. It goes on to say, “After learning that, Ms. Lawrence made an effort to communicate to Coachman that she had a boyfriend, after which she did not hear from him again.”
The text of the allegations against Coachman is below. Coachman worked for ESPN from 2008 to 2017 before returning to WWE.
1. Men Preyed on Ms. Lawrence Under the Guise of Being Collegial or Providing Mentorship
125. On or around January 18, 2016, SportsCenter anchor Jonathan Coachman (“Coachman”) emailed Ms. Lawrence offering to provide her with mentorship and providing his cellphone number. When he contacted her via text, he quickly turned a professional conversation into a personal matter, asking her about her musical interests. He was employing the ESPN predators’ playbook. See supra at ¶ 84. Colleagues then cautioned Ms. Lawrence that Coachman was notorious for sexually harassing female employees. After learning that, Ms. Lawrence made an effort to communicate to Coachman that she had a boyfriend, after which she did not hear from him again and he made no offers of mentorship.
126. Coachman’s reputation for making unwelcome sexual advances toward women and engaging in other sexually harassing behavior was not a secret. Cary Chow had warned Ms. Lawrence about him when he gave the short list of men at ESPN who were notorious for sexual harassment. Coachman had sent Walsh inappropriate photos of himself and text messages, falsely telling her colleagues that they were romantically involved and that she “wanted” him – another common practice of men at ESPN.
The suit also states that Lawrence complained to Jack Obringer, Senior Coordinating Producer, Studio Production of ESPN, that she was being sexually harassed and he guessed that the harasser was Coachman. Obringer indicated that Coachman’s inappropriate behavior toward women was well-known to management. Nevertheless, Coachman continued to appear in ESPN commercials and on SportsCenter without discipline or accountability until he was quietly dismissed on or around April 26, 2017, via layoff.
|
Responses:
|
