No matter what we're watching on ESPN, we've become attached to the TV personalities that
bring those sporting moments to us.
When those seemingly nice people do bad things, it's a shock to our psyches.
Here are some of the biggest and most inexplicable scandals from the worldwide leader in sports.
Ashley accounts
Ashley Madison is a dating website that serves the demographic of married or romantically-attached
people looking to have an affair.
"At the moment it suits my lifestyle to date married men because I'm building a career
and doing lots of other things."
In 2015, the site's member rolls were hacked and leaked, and sports blog Deadspin found
that a whopping 101 ESPN employees out of about 4,000 at the time were Ashley Madison
clients, including dozens of, quote, "highly influential executives, vice-presidents, and
producers."
In a baffling twist, 39 of those dirty 101 reportedly used their company email addresses
for their Ashley Madison accounts.
Britt's behavior
In this age of omnipresent cameras, the whole world can witness a celebrity meltdown in
minutes.
That's what happened to ESPN's Britt McHenry in April 2015.
As MSNBC reported, security footage was released that showed McHenry mouthing off to a tow
lot employee who she wasn't happy with — to say the least.
"Why, cuz I have a brain and you don't?"
"Maybe if I was missing some teeth they would hire me, huh?"
After firing off a few more insults, she added,
"I'm on television and you're in a f---ing trailer, honey.
Lose some weight, baby girl."
McHenry later issued an apology, tweeting:
"In an intense and stressful moment, I allowed my emotions to get the best of me and said
some insulting and regrettable things.
As frustrated as I was, I should always choose to be respectful and take the high road.
I am so sorry for my actions and will learn from this mistake."
McHenry earned a one-week suspension from ESPN.
Chris Berman
Chris Berman's alleged skeeviness isn't exactly breaking news.
Beginning in 2011, ESPN makeup artist Sue Baumann claimed that while working on ESPN's
Sunday NFL Countdown, Berman made unsavory comments and sent her not-safe-for-work text
messages.
According to the Daily Mail, Baumann's husband supposedly made ESPN higher-ups aware of Berman's
actions in 2015, and soon thereafter, Baumann was fired.
That's when she decided to sue the network.
A company investigation found that Baumann's claims, quote, "had no merit," but the network
reached a settlement with her anyway, which, according to an ESPN spokesman, was to, quote
"save a considerable amount of time and litigation costs."
Gross interviews
During Maxim model and broadcaster Jenn Sterger's time as a reporter for the New
York Jets, she alleged that quarterback Brett Favre began aggressively romancing
her.
Since then, Sterger has hosted sports TV shows none for ESPN, but she has had some sketchy
meetings and interviews with the company, according to Fox News.
She was supposedly invited to an interview with the network and then invited to a strip
club.
The next day, male bosses allegedly chastised Sterger for going to the strip club because,
quote, "it was a bad look for the company" and sent her on her way.
Later, Sterger reportedly went to ESPN headquarters to inquire about a gig.
She said that interview consisted of employees asking her about her history of hookups with
different men.
Exploiting Erin
In 2008, ESPN personality Erin Andrews was secretly videotaped through a peephole in
a Nashville hotel room, and the footage of the sportscaster wearing no clothes was posted
online.
According to Us Weekly, Andrews filed suit against both the man and the hotel.
Not only did she have to endure all of that, but in a legal proceeding related to the case
in 2016, Andrews testified that her employer, ESPN, exploited her, too.
She explained,
"My bosses at ESPN told me, 'Before you go back on air for college football, we need
you to give a sit-down interview.'
And that was the only way I was going to be allowed back."
Andrews alleged that the network forced her to publicly discuss the traumatic events,
seemingly in an effort to milk the story.
Andrews chose to be interviewed on The Oprah Winfrey Show, because she felt Oprah would
handle the situation with the most sensitivity and tact.
Even so, the sportscaster reportedly developed a rash and broke into tears before the interview
because she was so distraught.
"I've had law enforcement tell me, 'You're just going to have to deal with the fact that
this is never going to come off the internet.’"