ESPN’s Former President Had A Little Bit Of A Coke Problem

ItalianStallion8 years ago

While the middle class enjoys the occasional hit of devil’s lettuce, snow is usually reserved for people who have a corner office and a mistress on 5th avenue. Remember, cocaine addiction is only a “problem” if you make less than $250,000 a year. After that, it’s just an expensive hobby, like sailing or horseback riding.

America’s latest corporate head honcho to fall to the use of the booger sugar? ESPN President, John Skipper. But the worldwide leader in sports and Colombian magic mix had to add a little extra excitement to the story.

From Yahoo Sports:

In an interview with Hollywood Reporter contributor and famed ESPN historian James Andrew Miller, Skipper conceded that his December resignation came after an extortion plot by his cocaine dealer.

On Wednesday, Dec. 13, Skipper delivered an impassioned speech to ESPN employees about the future of the company. On Monday, Dec. 18, he abruptly departed. In between, someone he bought cocaine from for the first time tried to extort him. On Friday, Dec. 15, he met with Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger, realizing he had put the company in “an untenable position,” and tendered his resignation.

“They threatened me, and I understood immediately that threat put me and my family at risk, and this exposure would put my professional life at risk as well,” he told the Hollywood Reporter.

Well, this went from “let’s go to rehab” to the plot of Taken really quick. That’s nothing though. Are you really afraid of a little extortion? I once single-handedly fought off a Mexican drug cartel using nothing but one of those little decorative plastic swords they put in drinks. Now they all know me as “American Jack Sparrow.” That was a spring break in Cancun I’ll remember forever, let me tell you that.

Skipper said his drug use was born from a desire “to be countercultural,” having worked at Rolling Stone for the first 10 years of his career, and “that recreational drugs were recreational, that they weren’t dangerous.” He repeatedly said his occasional cocaine use did not impact his work at ESPN.

So you just did it to fit in? Jesus, dude. You’re an adult.

Skipper has since resigned and been replaced. Hopefully, before his replacement indulges in little recreational nose clams, he makes sure ESPN sticks to doing what it does best: covering LeBron James and forgetting hockey exists..

[via Yahoo Sports]

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