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<h6 class="section-tag"><span style="color: #050000;"><strong>ESPN president John Skipper in candid interview reveals he resigned to get ahead of a looming scandal over substance abuse </strong></span></h6>
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<h6><span style="color: #050000;"><strong>Skipper, 62, left ESPN in Dec following his revelation an extortion plot, based on his cocaine use</strong></span></h6>
<h6><span style="color: #050000;"><strong>“They threatened me, and I understood immediately that threat put me and my family at risk, and this exposure would put my professional life at risk as well” &#8211; Skipper </strong></span></h6>
<h6><span style="color: #050000;"><strong>The former network executive said his problem with coke led him to drop his guard and stray outside his normal supply chain for a purchase</strong></span></h6>
<h6><span style="color: #050000;"><strong>It ultimately led to the specter of a blackmail thr</strong>eat that ended with being shown the door</span></h6>
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<img class="alignnone wp-image-290767" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/John-Skipper-2.jpg" alt="John Skipper 2.jpg" width="659" height="437" /><strong>John Skipper: I had to leave, “They threatened me, and I understood immediately that threat put me and my family at risk, and this exposure would put my professional life at risk as well” </strong></h6>
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<p>Former media stalwart John Skipper was forced to resign from his appointment as head of ESPN after <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/john-skipper-details-his-espn-exit-a-cocaine-extortion-plot-1094657?utm_source=Sailthru&;utm_medium=email&;utm_campaign=THR%20Breaking%20News_2018-03-15%2006:00:00_ehayden&;utm_term=hollywoodreporter_breakingnews">he was extorted by a drug supplier he&#8217;d patronized </a>on the spur of the moment. The ex-network president revealed the facts of his departure in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter.<br />
Skipper’s departure from ESPN in December sent shockwaves through the industry, and the abrupt nature of it is now clear: “They threatened me, and I understood immediately that threat put me and my family at risk, and this exposure would put my professional life at risk as well,” Skipper told the magazine.<br />
“I foreclosed that possibility by disclosing the details to my family, and then when I discussed it with [Disney CEO] Bob [Iger], he and I agreed that I had placed the company in an untenable position and as a result, I should resign.”<br />
Skipper said he had always been cautious about his drug use, but “not this time. It turned out I wasn’t careful this time.”<br />
Skipper said he had never done cocaine at work at ESPN and only had used infrequently over the past 20 years, with it never affecting his work performance. ESPN announced earlier this month that Disney exec Jimmy Pitaro would replace Skipper.<br />
Admitting that his addiction led to his going outside his normal supply chain, which opened him up to the potential risk of blackmail, Skipper said he never considered a course of action that would have allowed him to stay on at ESPN.<br />
“I was overwhelmed by the circumstance. I simply just disclosed the facts, and it became clear in my conversation with Bob what I needed to do. Everything happened very quickly,” Skipper said.<br />
The former media titan spent what he described an “agonizing weekend” after his talk with Iger and before his resignation became official.</p>
<h6 class="postid-11474443"><img class="alignnone wp-image-290768" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/John-Skipper-1.jpg" alt="John Skipper 1.jpg" width="677" height="449" />“I don’t think I ate for the 48 hours,” ESPN president John Skipper was candid as to why he resigned from his network after 27 years</h6>
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<p>“I don’t think I ate for the 48 hours,” Skipper said. “I was filled with great regret and tension. My stomach was churning. I wasn’t sleeping. I was despondent. I was panicked. But, no, I never thought about trying to reverse course.”<br />
He went further to deny any inappropriate behavior toward ESPN’s female employees, as some people had suggested at the time of his sudden departure from the network.</p>
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‘Ouch! one snort too many’ Ex-ESPN president, John Skipper, explains abrupt departure from network, following cocaine extortion plot – “I wasn’t careful this time,” he said of incriminating drug purchase
