Click here to visit the new home of AOLTV!

Hot on HuffPost TV:

See More Stories
EDITION: U.S.
CA Canada US United States UK United Kingdom
Powered by i.TV
May 26, 2012

ESPN hosts accused of sexual harassment

by Bob Sassone, posted Jul 3rd 2007 8:38AM

Paige and CrawfordRita Ragone, a former hair stylist for the ESPN show Cold Pizza, has filed a sexual harassment suit against show hosts Jay Crawford and Woody Paige, ESPN, and Atlantic Video.

The suit says that Crawford and Paige often said rude things to Ragone, cornered her, and that Paige once grabbed her rear so hard she jumped. She also says that ESPN executives told her not to make any trouble because the on-air talent was "untouchable." Crawford, Paige, and ESPN all deny the allegations.

Cold Pizza is no longer on the air, though Crawford still hosts another morning show on the network.

This isn't the first time that an ESPN on-air personality has been accused of this type of behavior. Baseball analyst Harold Reynolds was fired from the network for sexual harassment last year. Reynolds denies that anything like that happened. He now works for MLB.com.

[via TV Tattle]

Link Squad

Add a Comment

Sign in »
*0 / 3000 Character Maximum

5 Comments

Filter by:
pete

*round ass* not room ass, sorry

July 03 2007 at 7:39 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
pete

back in my day a harmless slap on a nice room ass was for a job well done. you got to keep these dames motivated and dagnamit you show me a better way.

you cant you see!

July 03 2007 at 7:38 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Justin

First Take just evolved from Cold Pizza--it's essentially the same show with a new name and based at ESPN Studios in Bristol instead of Times Square in NYC.

Yeah, this seems fishy just by the wording. I don't think that ESPN employees are all upstanding citizens but the Reynolds case had a lot of evidence and witnesses right away where this would be a higher profiled event if there was any substance to it.

July 03 2007 at 3:42 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jason

I don't buy the "untouchable" part because ESPN fired Harold Reynolds (Baseball Tonight) for sexual harassment last year.

And he was more of an ESPN employee than Paige is (who still works for the Denver Post and is on Around The Horn) and certainly was more "untouchable" than Jay Crawford is.

July 03 2007 at 11:11 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jim

Jay Crawford is untouchable? I've never even heard of the guy.

July 03 2007 at 10:34 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

Follow Us

TV Squad Hot Topics

From Our Partners