Another Fox Executive Out Under Sexual Harassment Allegations
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And the hits just keep on coming....
Another Fox executive has been fired amid sexual harassment allegations.
The staff at Fox Sports received and internal email, telling them that Fox Sports National president Jamie Horowitz has been fired.
Los Angeles-based Fox Sports president Eric Shanks announced Horowitz’s departure via the email yesterday afternoon.
Sports Illustrated writes that one woman who has worked in production at Fox Sports told Sports Illustrated on Monday that she spoke last week with HR officials for Fox Sports for more than an hour. She recounted a story of Horowitz attempting to kiss her at an offsite location last year. “I have been working in sports for a long time, and no one has ever been that bold with me,” said the woman, who asked that her name not be used. “I saw him at Fox one day, and he said he wanted to catch up. He said we could meet up to talk. The hook was that he could get me more work. Fox HR called me last week. They asked about what had happened. I gave some details and then called back and gave more details. To Fox’s credit they handled it quickly and really pro-active. They went out of their way to contact me.”
Horowitz’s attorney Patricia Glaser, told SI.com in an email that, “The way he has been treated by Fox is appalling. At no point in his tenure was there any mention by his superiors or by human resources of any misconduct or an inability to adhere to professional conduct. Jamie was hired by Fox to do a job—a job that, until today, he has performed in an exemplary fashion. Any slanderous accusations to the contrary will be vigorously defended.”
The firing of Horowitz comes exactly one week after Fox Sports announced it had eliminated more than 20 writing and editing positions in Los Angeles—as well as opted not to re-sign some existing writers. The strategy, as laid out by Horowitz and clearly signed off on by his bosses, was to shift resources from written content to video content highlighting Fox Sports’s on-air personalities, a collection of brash voices who offer loud takes on the sports news of the day. Given the abrupt departure of Horowitz, it is unclear whether Fox will support that strategy heading forward. If it changes course, it will do so with a dearth of editorial talent.
Here is the email that was sent to the staff:
