EON

ESPN confirms firing of Steve Phillips

ESPN confirmed on Sunday that former New York Mets General Manager and current baseball analyst Steve Phillips has been fired. Phillips had been with ESPN for over a year working in the booth on the networks Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday night baseball coverage as well as working as a contributor on “Baseball Tonight”.

It was discovered last week that Phillips had been carrying on an affair with Brooke Hundley, a 22 year old production assistant for ESPN. Phillips took a leave of absence last Wednesday when the story came to light in the press, and the network decided Sunday not to allow Phillips to continue to working as a baseball analyst. Josh Krulewitz, a spokesman for ESPN, said the network released Phillips because it was determined that his ability to effectively operate as a baseball analyst was “significantly and irreparably damaged”.

Following the announcement that Phillips’ was fire, Hundley took to her MySpace page to say she was still “hopeful.”

Phillips, 46, apparently broke off his affair with Hundley around August 5th at which point Hundley began harassing Phillips’ family. According to police reports filed in Connecticut where Phillips lives, Hundley not only contacted Phillips’ son over the internet, but also called the house to speak with Phillips’ wife. Hundley also sent Phillips’ wife, Marni, a letter containing graphic details about their affair including the location of several of Phillips’ birthmarks.

Steve Phillips is the second ESPN baseball analyst to be fired since 2006. Former “Baseball Tonight” analyst Harold Reynolds was let go for “inappropriate hugging” in an incident involving a female intern. Reynolds has since filed a wrongful termination suit that was recently settled out of court.