Earlier this Spring, a bombshell report of an impending s**ual assault lawsuit against Fox Sports hit the world of sports media, with Joy Taylor backlash after being named in the initial filings and complaints. Taylor had allegedly fostered relationships with numerous Fox Sports employees, including a network executive, that branched well beyond the workplace.
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Subsequent investigations worsened the matter, and now the trio of Emmanuel Acho, Charlie Dixon, and Taylor have all been relieved of their respective positions at the network. Needless to say, public perception has hit an all-time low.
According to another former Fox Sports broadcaster, Cris Carter, Taylor’s axing was inevitable. The legal ramifications of her alleged actions were that serious.
“Fox had no choice but to fire her,” said Carter. “In their investigation, they gave Charlie time off. Then, eventually they end up firing Charlie, so that tells you there’s some fire there in the wood pile.“
It may have been in the network’s best interest to let go of everyone who was involved in the scandal. However, the former Minnesota Viking stated that they had to take things one step further by destroying anything that was ever associated with Dixon’s time as an executive.
“They had to burn down everything that Charlie Dixon had created,” said Carter.
Consider it a ‘corporate cleansing’ if you will. But it was painfully necessary, according to Carter, even though a few innocents were wiped away in the process. Everyone who was working on the shows in which Acho and Taylor were routinely a part of, or hosting, was released as well.
Fellow TV analysts and former players such as LeSean McCoy, Keyshawn Johnson, Paul Pierce, and several others are all being forced to look for new gigs. It is a tragic instance of what Carter referred to as “friendly fire.”
“They just happened to be riding in the car with her, they end up getting shot… You [are] riding with Tupac and Biggie, man, people looking for them, man. Accident. Friendly fire,” elaborated Carter.
“They had to. They had to tear those shows down… not only because of the rumors but because of the stuff they found out in the investigation. That thing was ugly. It had to happen,” he added.
Despite the severity of the allegations, Carter suggested that Taylor’s “wealth of information” and “experience” will likely result in another network offering her an opportunity soon. Throw in some very “real” journalistic credentials and a “good rolodex” of past interviews, and the NFL Hall of Famer is more than confident that football fans haven’t seen the last of Taylor just yet.
In fact, former NBA star Gilbert Arenas has publicly voiced his interest in hiring Taylor to assist with football coverage. He even claimed that “We’ve been behind the scenes, talking to her for the last year.”
If that’s indicative of Taylor’s popularity as a free agent, then she may be back on your screens much sooner than you think.
