Updated throughout the day with quick takes from staff.
ESPN analyst Steve Phillips has probably had better days than today. The New York Post has an incredibly salacious and ugly story about Phillips and a jilted ex-lover, Brooke Hundley, who was an assistant at ESPN.
It really doesn't get any more awkward than this: Phillips had a fling with a 22-year-old girl, and then broke up with her. When Phillips split up with her, Hundley decided to make contact with both his wife and teenage son, whose name has been redacted in this letter that was printed by The Post today. Some highlights from the letter, if you don't have time to read the whole thing.
-- She gives details to prove her intimate relationship with Phillips, including details about a vasectomy and birthmarks in private areas.
-- The whole middle paragraph is really talking a lot about Phillips' son, which I'm sure struck a nerve with Marni Phillips.
-- She details numerous romantic liaisons (and future meetings, too) in the letter.
-- She somehow manages to try to spin some reason in this whole thing by playing the "I'm Catholic" card, which was pretty amusing.
Steve Phillips told police he has "extreme concerns about the healthy and safety of my kids and myself." Phillips did not pursue charges against Hundley, but he is being sued for divorce by Marni Phillips.
The Post also reports Phillips has been suspended one week by ESPN for the scandal. (You've got to wonder what Harold Reynolds thinks of that light one-week slap on the wrist after he was bounced from the network for misconduct falling in a similar category.) There has been no comment from ESPN, Hundley or Phillips on the matter.
Where this goes from sort of comical and embarrassing to just scary is the encounter on Aug. 19:
Marni Phillips, a stunning, green-eyed blonde, told cops that on Aug. 19, she drove home with her 7-year-old son and spotted a woman walking down the driveway to a parked car."I knew instinctively this was the woman Steve was involved with and I was terrified," Marni told cops. "I immediately called 911. She got in her car, put it in reverse and smashed the rear end of her vehicle into the stone column."
Marni then found the letter stuck in the door.
UPDATE 1: Excellent (and now erased) Wikipedia entry on Steve Phillips' page.
UPDATE 2: Don't forget that this isn't his first run-in outside his marriage. (via)
UPDATE 3: Phillips is taking an indefinite leave of absence from ESPN. No big surprise after the storm this has kicked up today.
UPDATE 4: Statement from Phillips now available.
This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.
Comments
Ol houndog Steve’s at it again. I read somewhere else he has deeded his luxury home to his soon to be former wife. I’m sure the settlement won’t end there. Pretty expensive affair, and considering what it’ll end up doing to his young child, it’s a mistake he’ll never be able to get away from. Guys that can’t keep it in their pants should just stay single. Then you can have all the protected fun you want with little consequences (just stay away from the co-workers).
by qscft6y on Oct 21, 2009 10:49 AM EDT reply actions
Okay what else is news Phillips is not alone and certainly can not be held up to any moral sin connection, because it happens everyplace,however he needs to be fired and the post needs tolerance training. ESPN should not be found quility of no more than bad hiring practices.
by rocky o8 on Oct 21, 2009 10:59 AM EDT reply actions
I am sorry for Mrs. Phillips and her son. As for Steve Phillips, he is getting what he deserves!!. With his job status and the recent history of ESPN and this type of thing, I cannot believe that he is dumb enough to do this. He is getting a slap on the wrist by ESPN, but is going to pay for it dearly by the time his divorce is finalized!!
by jcurtis on Oct 21, 2009 11:05 AM EDT reply actions
The guy seems like a scum bag. Not just from this incident, but read into his path, his birth marks, he tried to sign one to a minor league contract or something. He seems very conceited and foolish.
by AW78 on Oct 21, 2009 11:19 AM EDT reply actions
This just shows poor judgment on his part. this was obviously not a woman he could trust to keep things quiet, and she was ugly. I can no longer respect his expert opinion on anything sports.
by Bloated111 on Oct 21, 2009 11:21 AM EDT reply actions
the woman is the evildoer here. she knew he was married. the married guy is just tearing off some strange. women need to realize that the married dude that you are cgeating with isn’t leaving his wife for ya . not happening. the other woman is scrapheaped all the time. keep your pants on honey and you will have nothing to get angry about. better yet find your own guy. women get off so much on winning the contest by taking somebody else’s husband that its sick. this guy should stick to massage parlors and hookers if he cant make it with his wife. just a little bit of smarts goes along way.
by scurds on Oct 21, 2009 11:49 AM EDT reply actions
SN bloggers love it when there’s news that reflects poorly on ESPN.
by NittanyBlueHen on Oct 21, 2009 12:10 PM EDT reply actions
I know this happen all the time but can someone explain to me how did "Smooth Steve Phillips" keep his job but Harold Reynold didn’t?
by rongoode on Oct 21, 2009 12:11 PM EDT reply actions
@NittanyBlueHen — Yeah, I had to hunt really hard for this one to dig up dirt … because it was (and continues to be) the most searched thing on Google today.
by littmann.tsn on Oct 21, 2009 12:32 PM EDT reply actions
Who cares, why is this news???
by tedchinook on Oct 21, 2009 12:33 PM EDT reply actions
littman- did i say it wasnt newsworthy? I just said SN enjoys when something bad happens at ESPN.
by NittanyBlueHen on Oct 21, 2009 12:40 PM EDT reply actions
I know people at ESPN, so I hardly take any joy in their pain. Where in this post did I indicate that I was giddy or happy or anything? Did I find this kind of stupidity — particularly on the heels of another affair early in his career — kind of funny in a sad way? Sure. But I didn’t exactly do a fist pump when I heard there was a public ESPN flub like this. I think you’re really overstating the reaction.
by littmann.tsn on Oct 21, 2009 1:07 PM EDT reply actions
The chick isn’t even hot. That’s the really sad part.
by goldenchild on Oct 21, 2009 1:08 PM EDT reply actions
Philiips certainly succeeded in "getting some strange"……..
by markmaymustdie on Oct 21, 2009 1:23 PM EDT reply actions
I’d guess she doesn’t have such detailed knowledge of his birthmarks just because she saw him walk across the room naked. She sounds plenty hot to me. I better stop thinking about this. My imagination just went wild.
by qscft6y on Oct 21, 2009 1:29 PM EDT reply actions
Well… I guess this is a proverbial case of the doo-doo hitting the fan. Harold Reynolds… Harold Reynolds????
by 308 Vet on Oct 21, 2009 1:54 PM EDT reply actions
ESPN won’t tolerate Phillips but Michael Irvin was OK?
by BronxJagerbomber on Oct 21, 2009 2:55 PM EDT reply actions
She knew he was married and this may happen. I find her to be a scum as he is.
by CaptainArt7 on Oct 21, 2009 3:01 PM EDT reply actions
Of all the people getting screwed (literally and figuratively) in this story, Harold Reynolds walks away more bow-legged than the rest.
And as for the actual affair, scurds took the words out of my mouth. Steve, dude, was her personality that amazing? I’ve got to believe there are hotter interns at the Mothership.
by cjbassett on Oct 21, 2009 3:04 PM EDT reply actions
Is ESPN becoming more like TMZ? or is it just me?
by lateinnings on Oct 21, 2009 3:25 PM EDT reply actions
It’s just you. I was able to find this same headline on every major sports site today with the exception of CBS. (Yes, even ESPN has it on its own home page.) Come back and call us TMZ when we’re accosting celebs at the airport.
by littmann.tsn on Oct 21, 2009 3:45 PM EDT reply actions
At ESPN you can have sex with interns and keep your job, but if you stray from the politcally correct B.S. they spew everyday, you are fired!
by Prod on Oct 21, 2009 4:01 PM EDT reply actions
The only thing I’m interested in about this story is, how much play will it get on ESPN? You know the blogosphere and news sites will go nuts over this for the next couple of days. Usually ESPN joins the fray with their lineup of jocks and talking heads dissecting the impact of a salacious account of an athlete’s sexual adventures on the sports universe. But if it’s one their own, will they pursue the story, or just quietly pass along what other "investigative journalists" dig up?
by nexrad on Oct 21, 2009 4:03 PM EDT reply actions
Steve Phillips is a good looking man. Brooke Hundley is not a good looking woman. If he was going to cheat, he should have cheated on a woman that looks like she could be on the cover of Playboy not Good Housekeeping. Let’s see if ESPN would cover this story or let it slide down the wayside.
by asdfsdafsd on Oct 21, 2009 7:26 PM EDT reply actions
PIMP DOWN! PIMP DOWN!
by ozfraud on Oct 21, 2009 8:18 PM EDT reply actions
I wonder what Harold Reynolds thinks about this? I’m starting to have some strange thoughts about ESPN and the way they’re handling their people. Case in point, How in the hell did Dana Jacobsen keep her job at ESPN over those insensitive remarks about Jews last year? She gets a slap on the wrist and is still employed there. Strange, indeed! Phillips is screwing a 22 year old who works with him, gets into this tangled web while married, while this chick details all of his business into public record. Lets see, one week leave? Are you serious? They fire my man Harold and it seems as if Steves getting a pass with the network. What gives? Oh wait, Disney does own ESPN! How silly of me!
by SouthArkansasRazorback on Oct 21, 2009 11:10 PM EDT reply actions
to rocky 08. Just because it happens (almost) everyplace doesn’t mean it’s not a moral sin. It’s pretty serious. That’s a problem in today’s society. Marraige has become a joke. People are so happy about spending thousands of dollars to have this big grand "gala" that they call a wedding. It’s no wonder the bulk of the money is spent on the reception and not the ceremony itself. When you swear to the Good Lord that you will forsake all others, that’s EXACTLY what it means. It’s not a punchline. I hope his soon to be exwife takes ALL his money. What an idiot.
by imzhamez on Oct 22, 2009 7:04 AM EDT reply actions
On Leave?! I guess it’s all in who you know. ESPN has fired others for less on the sex acandal front.
by NikkiFree on Oct 22, 2009 8:41 AM EDT reply actions
Steve is probably a nympho maniac. I also suffer from nympho manicism. I can’t turn sex down. My wife understands that I have a problem and knows that I only love her. Steves wife should get educated about this terrible addiction and not file for divorce. Im sure Steve makes love to his wife and the other girls are just sex. Thousands of men suffer from this illness and the public needs to be educated about it. I think of sex like a back rub its just pleasure. As long as you aren’t reproducing or spreading disease its ok to have sex with whom who want when you want. I have sex with as many different women as possible.
by crabeater on Oct 23, 2009 2:18 PM EDT reply actions
and you are heterosexual? and your "wife" is ok with it all? freak out.
by scurds on Oct 23, 2009 2:50 PM EDT reply actions
Steve, my man. You are supposed to have an affair with somebody HOTTER than your wife, not somebody that looks like a man and weighs more than you do. Saying this Hundley chick is homely is being WAYYYY to kind. Now look at the mess you got yourself into…..AGAIN. You really should have had an affair with a bear instead of that chick-it weighs less, is less hairy, has better smelling breath and can’t talk so you wife would never know….
by socalgreg on Oct 23, 2009 3:10 PM EDT reply actions
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