Covering a Super Bowl is a showcase event for any network. It’s a week where the network pulls out all the stops and puts its best foot forward — a time to be in the spotlight. But for Fox Sports in New Orleans, the shadow of multiple sexual assault lawsuits against the company is already casting a dark cloud over the network’s Super Bowl coverage.
On Monday, Fox began their Super Bowl week by finally taking a step to address the ongoing scandal. Executive Vice President of Content Charlie Dixon would be placed on administrative leave following not one but two lawsuits that have been filed last month accusing him of sexual misconduct.
It’s unfortunately nothing new for the Fox Corporation. For years, the company led by Rupert Murdoch has been embroiled in lawsuits, allegations, and controversies centered around men in leadership abusing their power. In 2016, Fox News kingmaker Roger Ailes was forced out after anchor Gretchen Carlson brought forward a sexual harassment lawsuit. Several other Fox News stars including Megyn Kelly and Alisyn Camerota also stepped forward with their own stories of Ailes’ predatory behavior.
But Ailes wasn’t alone at Fox News. In the ensuing years, multiple stars on the network were also dismissed after various scandals. Primetime host Bill O’Reilly lost his job in 2017 after news broke about his settling of several sexual misconduct lawsuits. Reporter James Rosen also left the network after allegations against him in the same year. And anchor Ed Henry was fired after yet another investigation into sexual misconduct in 2020.
Dixon isn’t even the first Fox Sports executive caught in a controversy like this. His former colleague Jamie Horowitz, who helped unleash Skip Bayless and the Embrace Debate movement on the masses, was fired in 2017 after an investigation into sexual harassment claims.
The first lawsuit against Fox this year, filed by former hairstylist Noushin Faraji at the beginning of January, contained multiple allegations against Dixon, former FS1 host Skip Bayless, and current host Joy Taylor. Faraji claims in the lawsuit that Dixon groped her, he and Taylor had an affair that advanced the host’s career at the network, Bayless offered her $1.5 million for sex, and other shocking behavior.
The second lawsuit filed by former FS1 anchor Julie Stewart-Binks alleges that Dixon sexually assaulted her in his hotel room and that her resistance to his advances ultimately led to her contract not being renewed at the network.
Serious questions must be asked of Fox as a company to see these lawsuits and sexual misconduct allegations permeate both their sports and news networks on both coasts over the last decade. Of course, any questions about the culture at Fox also have to include the infamous Dominion lawsuit, where Fox paid out $787 million after spreading lies about the 2020 Presidential Election.
One of the questions that immediately arises is why Fox would choose to place Dixon on leave now, at the beginning of the company’s Super Bowl week, and not when this first began. Why did it take multiple sexual misconduct lawsuits to take any step towards showing concern about the allegations or for the network to take some semblance of accountability for what is going on at Fox Sports and FS1?
Placing Charlie Dixon on administrative leave is not going to make this go away. The lawsuits will be a major topic when Fox Sports has media availability later this week.
Consider that even Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks has been named in both Faraji and Stewart-Binks’ lawsuits. Faraji states that Shanks and Fox Sports COO Alex Silverman could be added at a later date to her lawsuit. Stewart-Binks alleges that Shanks avoided her call about Dixon and that he willfully turned a blind eye to the situation.
Is it a coincidence or is there something culturally pervasive at the core of this company that sees this keep happening over and over again?
Super Bowl week should be a showcase for the brand new FS1 lineup the network debuted last September to turn the page on the Skip Bayless Era with fresh shows and new ideas. Breakfast Ball and The Facility have had their moments and are doing just as well as their predecessors despite the hype and hefty talent salaries of the former. Colin Cowherd is celebrating a new contract with FS1 and a move to Chicago as his successful podcast company continues to grow. First Things First with Kevin Wildes, Chris Broussard, and Nick Wright is one of the best daytime sports shows on television and a program that can actually be fun to watch.
None of them deserve to have this cloud hanging over their heads at a time that should be a huge opportunity to reach new viewers. But alas, the cloud is firmly fixed over all of them. Maybe it’s time for another Gronk lap dance.
Even though Dixon has been placed on leave, multiple talents are embroiled in the litany of allegations in the original Faraji lawsuit. Despite being implicated in an affair with Dixon, Speak host Joy Taylor will continue hosting her program in front of a live crowd. Emmanuel Acho, who was also linked with Taylor, will do the same with The Facility. One can only imagine what kind of scenes might unfold if there is anyone in the know in those audiences.
Fox launched FS1 with the ambition of taking on ESPN and kicking them off the mountaintop of sports cable networks. It has simply never come close to competing with ESPN on a day-to-day level of relevance and influence with sports fans. But the few times FS1 has been in the headlines in recent years has been the falling out between Bayless and Shannon Sharpe and now these lawsuits.
What headlines will Fox Sports draw this week when all of FS1’s dirty laundry is thrown on the streets of the French Quarter during Super Bowl week?
