A woman who worked on the set of the ESPN talk show “Cold Pizza” is suing the sports network, saying she was fired after complaining about sexual harassment by the show’s host and a regular panelist.
In the lawsuit, which also names ESPN host Jay Crawford and sports commentator Woody Paige, Rita Ragone claims she was subjected to crude sexual comments from Crawford and that Paige pinched and fondled her.
Ragone, a makeup artist and hair stylist, said Paige once grabbed her backside so forcefully that she was “propelled forward and into the air.”
“It is not true,” Paige said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. He declined further comment.
Ragone said Paige, a columnist with The Denver Post, repeatedly made vulgar remarks about her appearance. Crawford, she said, made unwanted sexual advances, told her she only got the job because of her looks and contributed to a locker-room atmosphere by making disparaging remarks about another hair stylist.
Ragone said the situation was exacerbated by a few female employees who didn’t seem to mind the atmosphere, including a stylist who gave the men lap dances.