'COLD PIZZA' sylist Sues ESPN... says she was sexually harassed by Woody Paige!!!

Search

New member
Joined
Aug 27, 2006
Messages
949
Tokens
Cold Pizza' stylist sues ESPN

Suit: Woman fired after complaining of harassment

Thursday June 28, 2007 6:37PM; Updated: Thursday June 28, 2007 8:20PM

NEW YORK (AP) -- A woman who worked on the set of the ESPN talk show "Cold Pizza" is suing the sports network, saying she was fired after complaining about sexual harassment by the show's host and a regular panelist.

In the suit, makeup artist Rita Ragone said she was pinched and fondled by sports commentator Woody Paige and subjected to crude sexual comments by ESPN host Jay Crawford at the show's studio in Manhattan.

Ragone said Paige once grabbed her backside so forcefully, she was "propelled forward and into the air."

"It is not true," Paige said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. He declined further comment.

ESPN spokesman Mike Soltys said the allegations were false. He declined to discuss the specific charges in the suit, which also named Paige and Crawford as defendants.

Soltys said Crawford was upset by the accusations and read a statement in which the TV host said he "vehemently" denied the allegations and looked forward to answering them in court.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court, claims the harassment began almost immediately after Ragone was hired by a video production company in 2005 to do hair and makeup on the "Cold Pizza" set.

Ragone said Paige, a columnist with The Denver Post, repeatedly made vulgar remarks about her appearance. Crawford, she said, made unwanted sexual advances, told her she only got the job because of her looks and contributed to a locker-room atmosphere by making disparaging remarks about another hair stylist.

Ragone said the situation was exacerbated by a few female employees who didn't seem to mind the atmosphere, including a stylist who gave the men lap dances.

"Ms. Ragone had never worked in such a vulgar or obscene environment," her lawyers wrote in the lawsuit.

Ragone said she raised complaints with managers at ESPN and her employer, Atlantic Video, only to be told to keep quiet. Ragone said a manager at Atlantic Video fired her last year after she refused to let the complaints drop.

Atlantic Video President Ed Milligan said the company, which also is being sued, would defend itself vigorously.

"This lawsuit is without merit," he said in a statement read by a publicist.

ESPN retooled and renamed "Cold Pizza" in May, replacing it with "First Take," a similar program also co-hosted by Crawford.

Last October, baseball analyst Harold Reynolds also sued ESPN, contending he was wrongly fired after a female intern complained about what he called a "brief and innocuous" hug.

Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

:puppy:
 

New member
Joined
Aug 27, 2006
Messages
949
Tokens
Women and Black people... everytime they are fired there is a fuckin lawsuit
 

The Rev
Joined
Sep 13, 2006
Messages
2,513
Tokens
Woody Paige sexually harasses a woman...woman gets fired.

Harold Reynolds sexually harasses a woman...HR gets fired.


well...allegedly.

and this is the classic example why ESPN has allegedly fallin' off in the past few years.
 

Member
Handicapper
Joined
Sep 21, 2004
Messages
9,647
Tokens
This will probably be the end of this story! What other Network or Newspaper will talk about this except, Jerry Springer? This goes on everywhere......? Sounds to me as if this "lady" needs a sharp object stuck up her nose or someplace. I slapped my wife on the butt today and she said, not now honey! (BTW, did this girl mean airhead not airborne. I read this in the Post today and had a laugh as will the Judge who hears this case. This sounds like a Judge Judy or Judge Brown material:bunnies:
 
Joined
Sep 21, 2004
Messages
28,775
Tokens
Woody's claim so far is that it's all bullshit (as it should always be before it goes to court).
 

Forum statistics

Threads
1,106,799
Messages
13,439,033
Members
99,339
Latest member
billcunninghamhomeloans
The RX is the sports betting industry's leading information portal for bonuses, picks, and sportsbook reviews. Find the best deals offered by a sportsbook in your state and browse our free picks section.FacebookTwitterInstagramContact Usforum@therx.com