The Fox Sports scandal has been losing the interest of the sports public in recent weeks, but the actual litigation is heating up. This week, it was reported that Fox asked the court for a dismissal in the bombshell workplace misconduct lawsuit which implicated a top executive and on-air talents, while two of the defendants have responded to the allegations.
Noushin Faraji, a former hairstylist for FS1, filed a lawsuit last month accusing former host Skip Bayless of sexual misconduct, which included offering Faraji a whopping sum of $1.5 million for intercourse. Faraji also accused current FS1 host Joy Taylor of harassment on the basis of ethnicity. Within that drama it was alleged that Taylor slept her way into her position as one of the faces of the station and a “Speak” co-host.
Skip Bayless and Joy Taylor Legal Teams Strike Back At Noushin Faraji Lawsuit
According to reports, Bayless and Taylor are gearing up for a fight and have filed separate defenses asking the court for relief.
Bayless’ defense claims that the former “Undisputed” host did nothing wrong, claiming that Faraji “consented” to the alleged acts.
In the original lawsuit, Faraji claims that Bayless would “give (her) lingering hugs and kisses on the cheek while putting his body against hers and pressing against her breasts.”
Skip Bayless Defense: Emotional Distress Is At Play
Bayless’ defense isn’t buying her representation of their encounters as accurate, instead offering another possible explanation centering around the claim that “pre-existing psychological or medical conditions(s)” could have caused Faraji the “emotional distress or pain” that she alleges in her original suit.
Joy Taylor Defense: Outside Factors Unrelated To Conduct
Taylor’s defense team is taking a similar course, contending that any alleged emotional distress Faraji claims to have experienced was due to “outside factors” unrelated to the alleged conduct. The public will never find out what those outside factors or past trauma was unless it was court-ordered to be revealed. So we must speculate on what they are referring to.
Just as Fox did in its separate filing, Bayless also cites the doctrine of “unclean hands,” which prevents a party from seeking relief in court if they have also engaged in unethical conduct related to the subject matter.
So Bayless is intent on showing that Faraji is not an innocent victim and has worked this situation in her favor to make him look bad.
Bayless & Taylor Claim Former FS1 Hairdresser Didn’t Go Through Proper Corporate Channels
Additionally, both Bayless and Taylor contend that the former hairdresser didn’t go through the proper internal channels such as Fox’s human resources department. Faraji disputes that, claiming in the original lawsuit, that she approached the department several times but received no help.
In similar circumstances, individuals implicated in such matters could be represented by their employer. In fact, California law dictates that employers are required to pay for the defense of employees (or former employees if the individual was employed during the alleged time period). However, it’s clear that Fox will let this play out but will not be jumping in to defend Bayless or Taylor any more than they have to in protecting their own interests.
There had to be a conversation and Bayless and Taylor agreed to seek their own independent counsel. So while Taylor continues to do her job and act as if nothing has changed, the court process is playing out and information is being gathered and career reputations are at stake.
This ordeal has already stained the reputations of Bayless and Taylor to some degree. Former FS1 employees such as Jason Whitlock and Marcellus Wiley have alleging that they were aware of a relationship between Taylor and co-host Emmanuel Acho, going as far to imply that there was a plot to get rid of Wiley, navigated through love affairs between Taylor, a Fox executive named Charlie Dixon and Acho. Taylor has neither admitted nor denied any of these allegations, but eventually she might have to.
Skip Bayless Was Once At The Top Of The Game
Bayless’ illustrious career as one of sports’ highest-paid daily talking heads came to a crashing end shortly after he split with Shannon Sharpe and he became an unfortunate example of a guy who stayed in the game too long and was addicted to the rush of his job a bit too much. There was a time when Skip was bigger than Stephen A. Smith and Shannon.
Stay tuned for more updates on this sports media scandal that just won’t go away.
