Sexual harassment accusations have become the grim reaper to careers in 2017 as powerful men continue to be exposed for their abuses.
It all started with Harvey Weinstein earlier this fall when woman after woman came forward to speak against his sexual misconduct, but since then virtually every space in media has seen their own ‘Weinstein moment.’
Now, according to Bloomberg, the NFL Network has suspended Marshall Faulk, Ike Taylor, and Heath Evans while investigating claims of sexual harassment from a lawsuit filed by one of their former colleagues.
There was a point in time when three former NFL Pro Bowlers being accused of sexual harassment would be shocking, but at this point it’s just another revelation about toxic masculinity.
Jami Cantor, the former wardrobe stylist for the NFL Network who filed the lawsuit, also named former NFL Network producer Eric Weinberger and former NFL Network analyst and ex- Philadelphia Eagle Donovan McNabb.
Cantor was specific in the lawsuit and though she did not name names, she was detailed in each incident.
According to Cantor, Faulk groped her breasts from behind and asked “deeply personal and invasive questions” about her sex life. She also said that Ike Taylor and Eric Weinberger both sent inappropriate pictures, with Taylor sending a video of him masturbating in the shower.
BREAKING: Ex @nflnetwork employee alleges sex harassment against former executive, current/former talent, including Marshall Faulk, Warren Sapp, Donovan McNabb, Ike Taylor, Heath Evans, @Ericweinberger, who now runs @BillSimmons’ The Ringer #Sportsbiz
— Scott Soshnick (@soshnick) December 12, 2017
Statement from @nflnetwork:
“Marshall Faulk, Ike Taylor, and Heath Evans have been suspended from their duties at NFL Network pending an investigation into these allegations.” #sportsbiz— Scott Soshnick (@soshnick) December 12, 2017
Just yesterday Cantor filed what was called an “amended complaint,” which goes into far greater detail about workplace harassment. In the complaint she recounts how Weinberger requested that she join him in an office bathroom because he was “super horny” and how he sent her a text reading, “watching you walk down the hall makes me crazy, your ass drives me insane.”
Heath Evans sent Plaintiff nude pictures of himself on at least two separate occasions. Mr. Evans constantly propositioned Plaintiff to have sex with him. Mr. Evans also made several sexually inappropriate comments to Plaintiff, such as, “you’re making me horny,” and “needed to get in you deep and hard.”
She says Faulk went as far to asking her favorite sex position, whether she liked oral sex and whether she dated black men. Cantor claims it later escalated to something physical.
“As time went on, Mr. Faulk became more aggressive, such as inviting Plaintiff to his hotel room, stroking and pulling out his genitals in front of her, pointing to his crotch and asking Plaintiff, ‘when are you gonna get on this already?’ He also pinned Plaintiff against a wall, demanding oral sex while he pulled his pants down.”
And detailed text messages from McNabb:
“Including but not limited to, asking Plaintiff if she was a ‘squirter,’ telling Plaintiff she ‘looked like the kind of girl that squirted when getting fucked,’ ‘CUM to dinner with me,’ and ‘why don’t you CUM over after work.'”
Today, The Ringer released a statement about Weinberger:
“These are very serious and disturbing allegations that we were made aware of today. We are placing Eric on leave indefinitely until we have a better understanding of what transpired during his time at the NFL, and we will conduct our own internal investigation.”
As these figureheads go down, one can only ask how much did the NFL Network know and how much did they cover up and hide. It also speaks volumes to the culture that goes on behind closed media doors.
As we have learned, statements are sure to follow as well as their probable firing. We’ll see how the story progresses going forward.