Thursday, March 28, 2024

ESPN Argues ‘No Obligation’ to Analyst it Fired Over Venus Williams ‘Gorilla’ Comment

[videowaywire video_id=”58F6EACBDD0D2925″]

Doug Adler and Venus Williams
Doug Adler and Venus Williams

*ESPN has responded to claims in a wrongful termination lawsuit filed against the channel by former tennis analyst Doug Adler over his comment about Venus Williams that some perceived to be a racial slur.

While working the 2017 Australian Open for ESPN, Adler claims to have referred to Williams’ style of play as “guerrilla,” but it came across to many fans as “gorilla,” and the perceived racial slur went viral on social media. Adler insisted he meant “guerilla” and served ESPN with a wrongful termination lawsuit after backlash caused the network to take him off the air.

But in a summary judgment motion filed last week, ESPN argues that regardless of whether Adler said “gorilla” or “guerrilla,” he chose his words poorly and caused unnecessary uproar that forced the sports network to do damage control, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Also, ESPN says its match commentators work on a freelance basis and that Adler acknowledged in his own deposition he had no assurance of working a particular number of matches.

“ESPN had no contractual obligation to put Adler on the air; its contractual obligation was to pay him for seven days of possible work,” states ESPN’s motion. “ESPN did pay Adler; he received 100% of his daily rate for all seven days of the coverage of the 2017 Australian Open, including days he did not work. ESPN was under no contractual obligation to retain Adler for a future announcing assignment.”

Adler has apologized for his comment even though he thinks it was misunderstood. He’s not happy with ESPN.

“They didn’t have good cause and I didn’t do anything wrong,” Adler told NBC’s “Today” show last August. “They killed me, they made me unemployable. They ended my career, they killed my reputation, my good name. What else was I supposed to do?”

“No ’cause’ was needed,” responds ESPN in court. “[B]ut even if cause were required, Adler’s controversial comment supplied it. It is unnecessary to decide whether Adler meant ‘gorilla’ or ‘guerrilla’; even crediting Adler’s spin, he chose his words poorly and provoked a public outcry that ESPN had to take steps to quell, to stem criticism of Adler and ESPN itself and return the focus to the competition on the court.”

ESPN tells the judge it has exercised reasonable business judgment. The intent of what he meant was not as important as the effect on listeners and the aftermath, it adds.

Below, Adler tried to explain himself to TMZ in Feb. 2017

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