Long-time Philadelphia sports radio host Howard Eskin has broken his silence after he was suspended from Citizens Bank Park for the rest of the Phillies season as well as the Philadelphia 76ers' training facility for an "unwelcome kiss" toward an Aramark employee, officials said.
Eskin, 73, is a host on SportsRadio 94WIP. On his Saturday morning show, The Howard Eskin Show, he briefly spoke about the incident.
"Now, I'm not going to get into specifics other than to say that I recognize my actions offended and upset her. I feel awful about that—I really do. I apologized to her at the time of the incident, and I apologize again now. I'm truly sorry that this did occur. I know a lot of you want me to say more about this, but I don't intend to comment on this any further and hopefully you understand," Eskin said on-air.
Audacy, the parent company of the station Eskin works for, put out a station about the incident when after it occurred.
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“We learned of an unwelcome kiss by Howard Eskin towards an Aramark employee at Citizens Bank Park," Audacy said in a statement. "We take these matters very seriously. We immediately investigated and took action to address the matter."
A source familiar with the investigation says the incident happened in May.
Audacy investigated the matter along with Aramark and the Phillies.
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“The Phillies take these allegations very seriously. We cooperated with our partners at Audacy and Aramark on their investigations. We support Audacy’s decision to suspend Howard Eskin from Citizens Bank Park," the Phillies said in a statement sent to NBC10.
“The safety of our employees is paramount, and when we learned that an Aramark employee had been subjected to an unwanted advance by an Audacy employee, we immediately began an investigation, which corroborated the allegations," Aramark said in a statement.
The Philadelphia 76ers also banned Eskin from their training facility in Camden, New Jersey, until further notice.
A Comcast Spectacor spokesperson also sent a statement to NBC10.
"The Sixers control access and credentials for all of their events, including games and activities, in the Wells Fargo Center. We respect any decision they make regarding Mr. Eskin," the spokesperson wrote. "We became aware of the incident regarding Mr. Eskin yesterday and will continue to monitor the situation."
Eskin has been a fixture in the Philadelphia sports world since the 1980s. He has been broadcasting on both radio and TV, including NBC10. He has worked at WIP since 1986.
