Another sexual harassment scandal for Fox as it fires its head of sports programming in L.A.Meg James | Contact Reporter
July 3, 2017
http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-fox-sports-jamie-horowitz-sex-harassment-20170703-story.htmlRupert Murdoch’s media company has been struggling for nearly a year to contain a sexual harassment scandal that has engulfed its Fox News unit in New York. Now, fresh allegations of a boorish workplace culture are dogging yet another unit — this time in Los Angeles — as Fox Sports announced that it had abruptly fired its controversial head of sports programming.
Jamie Horowitz’s dismissal Monday came about a week after Fox began investigating allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace in its sports division. The company interviewed several women at L.A.-based Fox Sports about Horowitz’s behavior, according to a person familiar with the investigation who was not authorized to publicly discuss it.
The women included prominent on-air personalities and show producers, according to two people who requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the investigation.
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Fox Sports is a profitable arm of Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox media company. Horowitz, 40, a former
ESPN executive, ripped a page from Fox News’ playbook by introducing loud and opinionated pundits who argue about issues in sports. The shows often feature an attractive young woman who serves as a foil for the boisterous men.
Sports Illustrated on Monday reported that a production assistant told human resources executives at Fox Sports that Horowitz once tried to kiss her. “I have been working in sports for a long time, and no one has ever been that bold with me,” the unidentified woman told the magazine. “I saw him at Fox one day, and he said he wanted to catch up.… The hook was that he could get me more work.”
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He joined Fox Sports after a brief and tumultuous stint at NBC’s “Today,” from which he was fired in 2014 after two months on the job. On-air personalities at “Today” complained to superiors that Horowitz was sowing discord on the set, suggesting that high-profile anchors, including Natalie Morales and Willie Geist, were on the verge of being fired.
NBC, at the time, released a statement saying that Horowitz was “not the right fit.”
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