Former ESPN president John Skipper opens up about cocaine use

For the first time since resigning as president of ESPN on December 18 to seek treatment for what he called a 'substance addiction,' John Skipper admitted that he was being extorted after he purchased cocaine.

'They threatened me, and I understood immediately that threat put me and my family at risk, and this exposure would put my professional life at risk as well,' the 62-year-old married father of two sons told The Hollywood Reporter. 

'I foreclosed that possibility by disclosing the details to my family, and then when I discussed it with [Disney CEO Bob Iger], he and I agreed that I had placed the company in an untenable position and as a result, I should resign,' continued Skipper, who described himself as an infrequent user of cocaine. 

He did not elaborate about who extorted him or if he took any legal action against that person or persons.  

Now-former ESPN president John Skipper said he resigned because he was being extorted after purchasing cocaine. He cited 'substance addiction' when he resigned in December 

During his tenure as president, John Skipper (near right) helped ESPN secure a series of long-term, multi-platform agreements with major rights holders, including the National Basketball Association and the Major League Baseball

The North Carolina explained that he did 'get some therapy' and 'go through treatment.' 

'Therapy isn’t easy, particularly for a Southerner tightly wound with traditional values,' he said. 'I have not necessarily been comfortable reflecting and being self-reflective.' 

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Skipper insisted that he does not have a problem with alcohol, never used heroin, and said his cocaine use 'never' affected his work. In fact, he claims he never used cocaine at work or with anyone he did business with .

Still, he admits that his cocaine use did come at a significant cost: 'I hurt my family, particularly my wife, and I forfeited a great job.'

Although he admitted there was an extortion attempt, Skipper didn't elaborate. 

Skipper, who became president of ESPN in 2012, also described his final day on the job.

'That's the day, of course, that there is no turning back; it's done, it's gone, it's public,' said Skipper, who claimed he had not eaten over the previous 48 hours or so. 'It was miserable. I spent it mostly by myself in New York City. I cry sentimentally at movies, but I never cry personally. That's the only day that I cried. And I cried because I realized the profundity of what I'd done to myself, to my family, and that I'd given up the best job in sports on the planet.'

ESPN has faced obstacles recently, including several rounds of layoffs, negative publicity related to the network's suspension of on-air personality Jemele Hill, internal battles with the NFL, and Wall Street backlash after network bought the rights to the NBA, along with Turner Sports, for nine years at an exorbitant cost of $24 billion.

Skipper was replaced by Jimmy Pitaro, who previously worked as Disney's chairman of consumer products and interactive media.

'Yeah, of course it has a certain pang to it,' Skipper said of his reaction to Pitaro's hiring. 'Because it has a sort of definitive finality, that OK, somebody new is going to be in charge. The good news is that Jimmy Pitaro is a good guy; I like Jimmy very much. He’s a good, smart executive. His style will work at ESPN. I wish him well, and (laughs) I hope he does better than the last guy!'

Skipper and his wife Jessica have been married since 1984 and have two adult sons, Nicholas and Clay. (In the photo above, the family is joined by Nicholas's wife)

Skipper was replaced by Jimmy Pitaro (pictured), who previously worked as Disney's chairman of consumer products and interactive media

Skipper's departure came less than a week after Disney struck a deal to buy film, television and international businesses from Rupert Murdoch's Twenty-First Century Fox Inc for $52.4 billion.

During his tenure as president Skipper helped ESPN secure a series of long-term, multi-platform agreements with major rights holders, including the National Basketball Association and the Major League Baseball.

In that time the number of subscribers plummeted but the network still managed to turn a profit year after year.

'I join John Skipper's many friends and colleagues across the company in wishing him well during this challenging time,' Iger said in a statement after the news was announced in December. 

Iger and Disney had just signed Skipper to a three year contract extension back in November that would have kept him at the network until 2021.

That contract was signed despite the several rounds of layoffs which hit the company and its employees in 2017.

Recently former ESPN host Adrienne Lawrence filed a sexual harassment lawsuit claiming the network is rife with misogyny.

Lawrence, who worked as an anchor and a legal analyst, claims the company did not address complaints for incidents dating back to 2015.

She specifically named 'SportsCenter' host John Bucigross, alleging that he called her 'dollface', '#dreamgirl', and '#longlegs' in text messages sent in 2016 along with unsolicited shirtless photos, reported the Boston Globe in December.  

Former ESPN host Adrienne Lawrence (pictured) has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the network, saying the company ignored her complaints dating back to 2015

The lawsuit details texts SportsCenter host John Bucigross sent her in 2016 in which he called her 'dollface', #dreamgirl', and '#longlegs' and in which he sent unsolicited shirtless photos

'ESPN is, and always has been, a company rife with misogyny,' the first line of the complaint reads, according to the Connecticut Law Tribune.

The suit alleged that male executives and talent at ESPN 'keep scoreboards naming female colleagues they are targeting for sex'.

It also alleges that men openly watch porn on their computers and have made comments in Lawrence's presence like wondering what Rihanna must 'taste like'.

The Boston Globe expose claimed women at the Connecticut-based operation said they were afraid to get pregnant and when they did would try their best to take a brief maternity leave.

One woman even went on the air to anchor while she was having a miscarriage just to show how dedicated she was to the job according to other employees.

Several of the woman interviewed 'said they were given less desirable positions or laid off before, during, or after maternity leave.'

Skipper responded to some of the allegations made in that story by stating: 'I can tell you categorically, we do not have a frat-boy culture.'

Under Skipper, ESPN launched a new website aimed at women. However, the network has been criticized for its treatment of its female employees 

In November, ESPN announced that it was laying off 100 employees, including some on-air talent, after the Thanksgiving holiday. 

ESPN was reported to be firing around 40 to 60 employees back in October, according to Sporting News, but that figure ultimately hit triple figures. 

It was the latest in an ongoing trend at ESPN, which laid off around 5 percent of its workforce in 2015, or about 300 employees.

Skipper suspended Jemele Hill (pictured) after she accused President Donald Trump of being a racist in a tweet 

Then in April, ESPN cut around 100 journalists and on-air personalities. 

Despite the recent struggles, Skipper told THR that he thought the network was on the verge of a resurgence. 

'I believed very strongly that a year later, two years later, the narrative was going to be very different,' he said. 'It was going to be that ESPN had maintained its preeminence in sports media and navigated into having what was still the strongest portion of a video bundle, along with having a strong subscription product and robust ad sales. And that we would be in a much better place. And I wanted to have that be the cap to my tenure. Not to leave in what I regarded as the middle of what was going to be a successful transition.'

Skipper also made news in October when he suspended reporter/anchor Jemele Hill, who accused President Donald Trump of being a racist in a Tweet.

Trump celebrated the suspension of Hill, who has since returned to the network.

'With Jemele Hill at the mike [sic], it is no wonder ESPN ratings have "tanked," in fact, tanked so badly it is the talk of the industry!' Trump tweeted.

Like other networks, ESPN has been affected by the changing habits of cable consumers – most notably cord cutters. After being seen in 100.13 million households in 2011, ESPN reaches only 87.5 million today.

The other issue for the network is the rising cost of league rights.

In 2014, the NBA announced a new nine-year, $24 billion television rights deal with ESPN and Turner that took effect this season.

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