Amid much debate over the end of ESPN’s brief partnership with Barstool and the latter site’s history of disrespecting women, former sports columnist and television personality Jenn Sterger had a story to tell.
Sterger, who famously accused Brett Favre of sending her inappropriate photos in 2010, tweeted Monday night that ESPN is “JUST as bad,” as Barstool when it comes to treatment of women (She would later clarify that she had not meant to make allegations against Barstool). She explained in a note that an unnamed ESPN employee sexually harassed her on two occasions: once bringing her to a strip club without telling her where they were going, and once inviting her for a job “interview” only to parade her around the office, pepper her with uncomfortable questions and ask her out.
https://twitter.com/jennifersterger/status/922654664977297408
Sterger first came to national attention in 2005, when Brent Musburger commented on her appearance during a Florida State-Miami game. She modeled for Maxim and Playboy, then began writing a recurring column for SI.com. She later worked as a stadium host for the New York Jets, where she was allegedly harassed by Favre, and hosted Race to March Madness on ABC and The Daily Line on Versus. According to her Twitter bio, she is currently a “comedian/actor/writer.”
Sterger’s story about the way the unnamed ESPN employee treated her is consistent with the testimony of other women in sports media, who are often objectified, disrespected or hit on while at work. It is the type of experience that makes women feel unwelcome or even unsafe in sports media.
In the early days of ESPN, the network was known as a wild-west of sexual behavior often crossing into harassment. In recent years, ESPN has acted on allegations of sexual harassment and assault against it employees and become better than most sports media outlets about hiring and elevating women into prominent and sometimes untraditional roles. If the network is truly committed to being a hospitable place for women it will take Sterger’s allegations seriously and investigate her claims.
Here is ESPN’s statement on the matter:
Here is ESPN's response to what @jennifersterger tweeted on her feed: pic.twitter.com/bWoYDtRRq7
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) October 24, 2017
UPDATE: Sterger has been tweeting all day about sexual harassment at ESPN, why it is difficult to come forward and why she did not mean to allege sexual harassment at Barstool.
https://twitter.com/jennifersterger/status/922906252765573120
https://twitter.com/jennifersterger/status/922906474166095872
https://twitter.com/jennifersterger/status/922897997649678336
https://twitter.com/jennifersterger/status/922874003840147457
