A few days after several on-air NFL Network employees were suspended following a wrongful termination suit filed by a former employee, Lindsay McCormick, a reporter who’s worked for ESPN and Sunday Night Football, posted about sexism she encountered while interviewing for a job with the network. She said the head of hiring talent asked her if she planned on “getting knocked up immediately like the rest of them,” and that the person who interviewed her was removed from his position.
A transcript, in case something happens to the Instagram post:
I’ve been quiet about this for too long. In my last interview with NFL Network a few years ago, the head of hiring talent said to me, ‘If we hire you, do you plan on getting knocked up immediately like the rest of them?’ ‘Them’ as in badass working women who deserve to have a family life as well? ‘Them’ as the women who work their tails off to be taken seriously in a man’s world? Or ‘them’ who bring you a new audience and a tremendous amount of viewership? Because while I don’t plan on ‘getting knocked up,’ I do plan on being like the rest of those brilliant women that our future daughters will one day look up to and see you can have it all. Kudos to NFL Network for eventually removing this man from his position and for the actions they’ve taken this week.”
After news of wardrobe stylist Jami Cantor’s lawsuit became public, NFL Network suspended Marshall Faulk, Ike Taylor, and Heath Evans; ESPN suspended Donovan McNabb and Eric Davis; and The Ringer placed former NFL Network executive Eric Weinberger on indefinite leave.