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"Tubby Temptress" Rails Against ESPN's Sexist Culture
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 18, 2010
Modified Jun 18, 2010
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 18, 2010
Modified Jun 18, 2010
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In our hyperactive modern news cycle, some seemingly one-dimensional stories turn out to be gifts that keep on giving, at least partially due to the egos of the subject matters. And Brooke Hundley seems to be going out of her way to be one of those precious gifts. The "tubby temptress" who had an affair with former ESPN broadcaster Steve Phillips is suing the company for defamation, and appeared on the CBS Early Show to try to take control of the reins of the story, as well as damn ESPN for their sexist practices.
Hundley, whom the Post identifies as "Phillips's former plaything," described the boys club culture behind-the-scenes at ESPN, and the events that transpired after she claims Phillips began inappropriately approaching her: "I went to a couple of different female supervisors and just sort of explained to them how I'm dealing with harassment from a member of the talent. And they just told me a story about how they had been sexually harassed. It was almost as if, 'You have been officially initiated. We all have a story to tell. This is just the culture.' They never felt any responsibility to report it to anyone higher than them. They thought the best teaching tool was to tell me to, you know, suck it up." (You can see the entire video below the jump)
While Hundley has a fair point about the culture at ESPN, and isn't the first to point it out, she completely downplays or ignores some of the more damning details of her side of the affair, such as the creepy letter to Phillips's wife (with penis birthmark description), crashing her car outside his home, and the craigslist ad, which all shatters the notion that she was just an innocent party. In addition, she's suing ESPN for $15,000, which seems an incredibly small amount for such litigation. Or is it the cost of stretching out her 15 minutes?
Tagged
brooke hundley
cbs early show
espn
lawsuit
steve phillips
tubby temptress
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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