ESPN is reporting on a civil suit involving former NFL star Michael Irvin, months after the organization famously hesitated to report on a suit involving the Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger.
Irvin, a former ESPN analyst who currently hosts a radio show on an ESPN Radio affiliate in Dallas, was accused of sexual assault in a civil suit filed Thursday.
ESPN TV and ESPN.com have both reported on the civil suit. On ESPN TV, the story ran as ‘Breaking News’ on the network’s BottomLine.
In July, Roethlisberger was also sued for alleged sexual assault. ESPN initially issued a ‘Do Not Report’ memo on the story, citing a policy against reporting on civil suits involving athletes.
ESPN did not report on the Roethlisberger story until news broke that there would be no criminal investigation into the allegations.
In a statement made to Sports Media Watch last year, ESPN explained that its civil suit policy is “dependent upon different circumstances,” and is “primarily for suits alleging sexual misconduct.”
In deciding whether to report on civil suits, ESPN said at the time that it’s “generally very cautious with civil suits that impugn a person’s reputation or character,” but that it also considers “the subject’s track record/previous history with similar allegations.”
Within the last eight months, ESPN has reported on civil suits involving at least three different athletes — Irvin, former NFL player Marvin Harrison, and the Lakers’ Shannon Brown.
(ESPN)
