A former ESPN colleague just accused WWE announcer Jonathan Coachman of sexual harassment.
In a report from the New York Post, Adrienne Lawrence, a former ESPN anchor and legal analyst, just hit the sports conglomerate with charges of sexual harassment and discrimination. Coachman was named among several ESPN employees as one of the culprits.
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Lawrence’s claims paint a scuzzy picture of ESPN’s culture where the men in question men used the “ESPN Predators Playbook” — a tactic where men offered professional mentorship only to switch to a more personal conversation.
According to Lawrence, Coachman employed this tactic but stopped “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 suit states.
Here’s a snippet of from Lawrence’s official legal document:
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 supraat ¶ 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.
Lawrence filed a complaint last summer, one that WWE vehemently denied.
“We conducted a thorough investigation of the claims Adrienne Lawrence surfaced to ESPN and they are entirely without merit,” ESPN said in a statement. “Ms. Lawrence was hired into a two-year talent development program and was told that her contract would not be renewed at the conclusion of the training program. At that same time, ESPN also told 100 other talent with substantially more experience, that their contracts would not be renewed. The company will vigorously defend its position and we are confident we will prevail in court.”
We will keep you updated as this story develops.
