Jonathan Coachman Listed in ESPN Harassment Lawsuit (Updated)

Jonathan Coachman is among the names of prominent ESPN employees listed in a lawsuit against ESPN by former ESPN anchor and legal analyst Adrienne Lawrence.

The lawsuit alleges that ESPN was aware of having a hostile workplace environment towards its female employees and did nothing to combat the issue. The allegations against Coachman were outlined on pages 32 and 33 of the lawsuit and alleged that he made “unwelcome advances” towards female employees.

Former WWE interviewer and announcer Todd Grisham was also listed in the lawsuit detailing one alleged incident of workplace harassment in late 2015.

WWE released a statement saying, “We take these matters very seriously and are investigating.”

ESPN released a statement saying, “We conducted a thorough investigation and found these claims to be entirely without merit. […] The company will vigorously defend its position and we are confident we will prevail in court.”

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. 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.

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. At least one young production assistant who joined ESPN just out of college had complained to Ms. Lawrence about Coachman making her feel uncomfortable by complimenting her physical appearance and making passes at her.

As explained below, when Ms. Lawrence complained to Jack Obringer, Senior Coordinating Producer, Studio Production of ESPN, Inc. that she was being sexually harassed (by another individual), Obringer guessed that the harasser was “Coachman” and indicated that his inappropriate behavior toward women was well-known to management. Nevertheless, Coachman continued to appear in ESPN commercials and on SportsCenter without discipline or accountability until he was quietly dismissed on or around April 26, 2017 via layoff.

The lawsuit also alleges that ESPN’s Chris Berman left “racially charged” voicemails to ESPN’s Jemele Hill. Hill responded on Twitter, essentially calling the claims a lie, “dangerously inaccurate,” and “misrepresenting a private conversation for personal gain.”

Re: Chris Berman pic.twitter.com/p7NqjHiV7r

— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) March 6, 2018

Source: ESPN lawsuit court document

Coachman Responds

Jonathan Coachman responded today on Twitter:

I will address this only once because I am seething today. In 21 years of being a PROFESSIONAL I have never been more offended in my life. I my 9 years I can count on one hand the amount of times I interacted with anyone other than a co-anchor. To allow someone to spread vicious https://t.co/4NYsZjK2C6

— Jonathan Coachman (@TheCoachrules) March 6, 2018

Lies and flat out fabrications is not ok and it’s time someone stood up for themselves. @jemelehill addressed her lie last night. I am not a part of this lawsuit because I have never done anything wrong. My reputation speaks for itself and anyone that has ever worked with me https://t.co/4NYsZjK2C6

— Jonathan Coachman (@TheCoachrules) March 6, 2018

Will back that up. I am also offended that someone can dangerously throw peoples names into something for the clear attempt at getting headlines. This the only time I will address this because I am not a part of this lawsuit. My heart goes out to anyone falsely accused of https://t.co/4NYsZjK2C6

— Jonathan Coachman (@TheCoachrules) March 6, 2018

Anything. Trust me it doesn’t feel good. But most of you have been incredible and supportive. Onward and upward. https://t.co/4NYsZjK2C6

— Jonathan Coachman (@TheCoachrules) March 6, 2018