ESPN released some text messages on Thursday in an attempt to prove that the sexual harassment allegations longtime anchor John Buccigross is facing are unfounded, but the woman who is accusing Buccigross says the network is only telling a portion of the story.
Adrienne Lawrence, who has filed a lawsuit against ESPN, released a statement on Friday thanking the Boston Globe for calling attention to the inappropriate way in which women have been treated by the World Wide Leader. She also accused ESPN of ignoring key allegations she made and only sharing “self-serving text messages” to defend Buccigross, which she says further highlights the lengths the network will go to in an attempt to “silence women.”
Regarding the @BostonGlobe report: pic.twitter.com/cDcWcamcsY
— Adrienne Lawrence (@AdrienneLaw) December 15, 2017
The text messages that were made public by ESPN appeared to show that Buccigross and Lawrence had a friendly relationship. The only time Lawrence indicated she was uncomfortable was when Buccigross mentioned sending her a photo of him with his shirt off, to which she replied, “You need to wear clothes, sir.” Immediately after that, Lawrence asked Buccigross about his plans for the weekend and expressed interest in getting together.
Buccigross isn’t the only one facing allegations of sexual harassment, as fantasy guru Matthew Berry was revealed in the Boston Globe article to be the subject of the troubling claims Jenn Sterger made back in October. Two former NFL players were also suspended by ESPN this week in the wake of a lawsuit that was filed by a woman they used to work with at NFL Network.
