A group of the NFL’s most notable retired players are now among the latest of a growing number of high profile men facing allegations of sexual misconduct.
Jami Cantor has come forward to accuse several current and former NFL Network employees of sexually harassing and/or sexually assaulting her during her time as a wardrobe stylist for on air talent from 2006-2016. In court documents filed on December 11, Cantor details multiple incidents in which she says she was repeatedly subjected to everything from sexually explicit comments and unsolicited nude photos, to unwanted sexual advances, groping and receiving sex toys as gifts.
In one recount according to a report from Bloomberg, she says Bill Simmons’ Media Group executive Eric Weinberger attempted to sexually assault her by rubbing his penis against her shoulder and asking her to touch it. She went on to recall an incident where former St. Louis Rams star Marshall Faulk asked her about her preferred sex positions, oral sex preferences and groped her breasts, as well as her butt, to “greet” her when she arrived to work. She also accused former Philadelphia Eagles star player Donovan McNabb of sending her inappropriate text messages asking her to “CUM to dinner” with him and asking if she was “a squirter,” while claiming Tampa Bay Buccaneers player Warren Sapp urinated in front of her despite her asking him to leave while she was organizing wardrobe in the men’s bathroom and gave her sex toys as Christmas gifts. In other recounts, Cantor described an incident where former Pittsburgh Steeler Ike Turner sent her a video of himself masturbating, while she alleges that former 49ers quarterback Eric Davis reached up to touch her butt and between her legs while she was working on a ladder in the NFL Network studio.
Others named in the suit include former New England Patriots quarterback Heath Evans and NFL Network talent coordinator Marc Watts. The NFL has since confirmed that both McNabb and Davis, who each currently hold positions as ESPN Radio analysts, have been suspended in light of the allegations against them.
Cantor was fired from the NFL Network in 2016 after 10 years of employment. In her recently-amended wrongful termination lawsuit, she maintains that she was discriminated against based on her gender and age, in addition to being sexually harassed for the duration of her time with the Network.