Former ESPN host Adrienne Lawrence has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the company for not addressing her complaints, specifically against well known SportsCenter host John Buccigross, according to the New York Post.
Lawrence's claims against Buccigross first surfaced back in December in a story published by the Boston Globe, in which she accuses Buccigross of sending unsolicited shirtless photos and calling her “dollface,” “#dreamgirl,” and “#longlegs” via text messages sent in 2016. Buccigross has since responded to the allegations in a statement to the Globe which reads, “I considered Adrienne to be a friend. I’m sorry if anything I did or said offended Adrienne. It certainly wasn’t my intent.”
According to the New York Post, Lawrence filed a complaint against ESPN last summer, but the new lawsuit, which was filed in Connecticut district court Sunday, includes an 85-page complaint featuring even more details.
"According to the suit, male executives and talent at ESPN “keep ‘scoreboards’ naming female colleagues they are targeting for sex.” It also alleges that men openly watch porn on their computers and have made comments in Lawrence’s presence like wondering what Rihanna must “taste like.”"
"Lawrence later claims that ESPN’s human resources department “colluded with Buccigross to cover up his misconduct” and that her complaints eventually led to her firing in 2017."
Additionally, according to TMZ Sports, the suit also names ESPN's Chris Berman as leaving a "threatening and racially disparaging voicemail" to Jemele Hill in 2016. Lawrence claims Berman has been involved in multiple incidents involving mistreatment of women, but "remains a celebrated and welcome ESPN employee," according to TMZ.