By David Bauder, Media Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --John Skipper, president of the sprawling ESPN sports network, said Monday that he is resigning to treat a substance abuse problem.
Skipper's sudden announcement will force the Walt Disney Co.-owned network to search for new leadership at a time of retrenchment, with the company losing subscribers due to cord-cutters and working to boost its digital output to follow the migration of young sports fans to their smartphones.
The 61-year-old executive, who has worked at ESPN since 1997 and has led the company since 2012, said he's struggled for many years with substance addiction but gave no details of his specific problem. He said he had concluded that now is the time to deal with it.
"I come to this public disclosure with embarrassment, trepidation and a feeling of having let others I care about down," he said. "As I deal with this issue and what it means to me and my family, I ask for appropriate privacy and a little understanding."
The sports network said Skipper's predecessor, George Bodenheimer, has agreed to serve as acting head of the company for the next 90 days.
Disney Co. chief executive Robert Iger said he wishes Skipper well during a challenging time. "I respect his candor and support his decision to focus on his health and his family," Iger said.
There was no public indication that this was coming. Earlier this year, Skipper signed a contract extension to keep him at ESPN through 2021 and last week spoke about the company's plans in New York at the Sports Video Group Summit. He told the group of industry experts that ESPN's growing digital audience is making up for the loss of television viewers.
He also called hundreds of ESPN's on-air talent to a summit last week at company headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut, to talk about the business. ESPN has laid off personnel this year to deal with new economic realities.
Disney's proposed purchase of several of 21st Century Fox's assets, if approved, is likely to add the 22 Fox-owned regional sports networks to ESPN's portfolio.
ESPN is also not escaping the current focus on sexual misconduct. ESPN quickly canceled a show earlier this year produced in partnership with Barstool Sports after some questions were raised about content, and the Boston Globe reported last week about several current and former employees describing a "locker room culture" at the network that is hostile to women.
Skipper received public support online from several media figures, among them ESPN's anchor Jemele Hill — who Skipper suspended earlier this year for violating the network's social media policy. Hill had criticized President Donald Trump and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in tweets.
"John Skipper is one of the finest people I've ever worked for," Hill tweeted.
Associated Press Business Writer Tali Arbel in New York contributed to this report.
Harvey Weinstein hit with new sex crime charge in New York
Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a new sex crime charge in New York, as he awaits retrial in his landmark #MeToo case.
Details of the new allegations were not immediately available. He was charged with committing a criminal sex act.
The jailed ex-movie mogul has long maintained that any sexual activity was consensual.
Prosecutors revealed last week that Weinstein had been indicted on additional sex crime charges that weren't part of the case that led to his now-overturned 2020 conviction. But the new indictment was sealed until his arraignment.
Prosecutors have said that the grand jury heard evidence of up to three alleged assaults — two in hotels in the Tribeca neighborhood and one at a lower Manhattan residential building. The purported incidents took place from the mid-2000s to 2016, prosecutors said.
But it's not clear whether any of those allegations underlie the new indictment.
While bracing for the new charges, Weinstein also is awaiting retrial after New York state's highest court this spring overturned his 2020 conviction on rape and sexual assault charges involving two women. The high court, called the Court of Appeals, ordered a new trial, which is tentatively scheduled to begin Nov. 12.
The Court of Appeals ruled that the then-trial judge unfairly allowed testimony against him based on allegations that were not part of the case. That judge's term expired in 2022, and he is no longer on the bench.
Prosecutors have said they'll seek to fold the new charges into the retrial, but Weinstein's lawyers say it should be a separate case.
Weinstein, who also was convicted in 2022 in a Los Angeles rape case, remains behind bars while awaiting his New York retrial.
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