Harold Reynolds Fired
Harold Reynolds was fired from his analyst job on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight for alleged sexual harassment. The ever-omniscient NY Post quotes Reynold’s explanation of the incident:
“This was a total misunderstanding. My goal is to sit down and get back. To be honest with you, I gave a woman a hug and I felt like it was misinterpreted.”
Wait–ESPN fired a guy that worked there for 11 years, with a brand new 6 year contract, for a hug? Who’s also black? I realize it was a Bristol TV show, but even in England that’s got to mean something. Maybe there was real sexual harassment, but from the way it reads, ESPN’s throwing out a scapegoat.
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50 Responses to “Harold Reynolds Fired”
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Harold Reynolds & Sexual Harassment Allegations
Harold is a personal friend of mine (like my little brother) so I know his side of the story which will soon come out at his attorney’s discretion. Not only am I personal friend of Harold, I am a professional fact-finding investigator in discrimination cases, including sexual harassment cases.
Under the law, nothing that Harold did fits under the definition of sexual harassment. According to the law; “Any unwanted (unwelcome) words, touching, gestures or action of a sexual nature constitutes sexual harassment.” In order to have a case of sexual harassment the allege victim must tell the person initiating the actions or gesture that their actions and gesture is unwelcome and unwanted. If the person ignore the victims warning and persist with the behavior, that constitute sexual harassment. This never happened in the case of Harold Reynolds and ESPN’s Human Resource manager should be fired for not knowing the law and the definition of sexual harasssment.
Unwanted sexual advances are determined by the allege victim. To one woman, a hand shake can be considered sexual harassment. To another a mere look could be considered sexual harassment and to another a friendly hug can be sexual harassment.
What is unusual about the ESPN case against Harold Reynolds is that none of the white victims have been identified. In contrast, in the case of the allege black victim vs Duke University, not only was the so called black victim identified, but all of her family members and ex-boyfriends were also identified.
Keep Harold in your thoughts and prayers
Sincerely,
Harold’s Friend
I will miss Harold. He is a good dude to listen to talk about baseball. I don’t know anything that happened but I’m sick and tired of big corporations makings decisions on the basis of “getting sued”. HR departements have too much power sometimes. I hope Harold takes them to the cleaners if all he did was hug or ever flirt a little. ****, Harold’s the man. I’m confident things will work out for him. There is no way he didn’t anything close to what Marv Albert did and look where he is now?
Folks,
I am not sure what occured, but if he got fired for a hug then I hope he sues ESPN very publicly and this so called accuser gets outed. It is amazing to hear about these stuck up women that go around spreading ****. I especially liked his attorney friend going out on a limb for him to have due process, unlike Grand Jury’s who convene to do kangaroo justice. Due process the right to a hearing? What happened to our perjury laws that 100 years ago those that made false allegations could suffer the same penalty that the accused faced!
Great quotes so far guys!
I’m so sad. Harold has one of the best voices in the business. I loved his commentary –it is sensible and objective. I hope ESPN knows what they’re doing or else they’re going to pay a high price.
I just can’t belive what ESPN is saying.
Harold is to smart for those kind of actions,also he is famous so why did he need to harass anyone I just don’t think it is true!
Harold YOU WILL BE MISSED!!!! Because it was nice to listen to someone talk about baseball that actually understood the game
Harold Reynolds,
I sincerly doubt that Harold would put his job and reputation on the line for sexual harassment. I’m tired of trying to protect an accuser. Her story needs to come out, what happened, was it really sexual harassment? Her history, his history of these types of things. What about the accused doesn’t he have the right of being innocent until proven guilty. I hope that the right person gets what is coming to them and right now I’m not sure that is happening. We need to know more.
I hope that this is not a true story and yes, should this prove to be false Harold should pursue every option available to get his name cleared. Due process should apply to everyone regardless of race creed or color remember, justice is blind all that crazy stuff veterans like me put our life on the line for…………..
I think that Harold being the class act that he is would only wish to have himself reinstated as one of the top analysts in baseball history and let by gones be by gones.
You would think that in this competative media market a corporation like ESPN would be 300% sure before taking action and that race would not ever enter into the equation.
Whats next is ESPN baseball gonna fire Johnny and Joe because they are too accurate? Oopps ratings are too high for you guys you gotta go.
I am a very dismayed fan.
Fox baseball will enjoy Harold.
I love you Harold.. if i see another baseball tonight with Oral Hershiezer im going to go of the deep end… Come back soon
Woops meant to say friend^^^^
ESPN is screwed up anyway. They take all other networks highlights and run them as their own and poke fun at every bad situation when they do not even have the slightest clue of what went on anyway. Harold made the show and it will go down hill now. ESPN really stands for Ellite Stupid Peoples Network and that is exactly the people that they have on the air. Outside of John K and Peter G, most have never played the game or been around the game enough to know what they are talking about. Harlod will be better off without these want to be’s anyway. Give them hell Harold.
I think all this trash of sexual harrasment is a bunch of crab. Some people just can’t help taking things out of porpotion and they don’t realise that they can cause a persons to get fire. I don’t think it was right for ESPN to fire Harold, because he is one of the few guys on TV that actually knows what he is talking about. I don’t think ESPN is going to be able to find some one to replace harold.
What a loser that lady must be.
What a cheap way to make a buck.
Go figure . They keep that ignorant crackhead Micheal Irvin & they fire Reynolds …… Pathetic
This does not make sense. I don’t know Mr. Reynolds and I have never met him but have followed his carear in baseball and at ESPN. Besides Peter Gammons there is no one at ESPN that knows baseball better than Harold Reynolds. Sounds like a setup to me. Mr. Reynolds I feel for you. You are a true professional in every way and I hope you get what you deserve. Keeping Micheal Irvin after his drug problems and you fire a man who is the ultimate in class. I will miss your insight. Hope to see you on TV soon!!
If Harold Reynolds was fired for huging a woman who did not register a complaint a few months after Reynolds signed a new contract,then something else is going on.
Harold – you are missed. I look forward to the Little League World Series every year just to hear your commentating (and to see the kids). I really can’t believe this is happening. Harold, I hope you get a job at another network soon. This is just very unbelievable to me. I am still in shock over it. You are the last person I expected something like this to happen to. You are such a likable TV personality. Before you were fired, I was commenting to my husband that they should give you a promotion and then this happened. Everyone in the Midwest loves you!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hope to see you soon.
You people sound ridiculous. And I’m sure Harolds personal friend (who is also an investigator in the exact offense he committed) would really go out on a blog board and fight for justice. SHUT UP!!! EVERYTHING IN THIS WORLD DEALING WITH A BLACK PERSON IS NOT RACISM!!! Depending on your age you never had to go through true racist actions. Maybe your grandfather and MAYBE your Dad like I said depending on your age. **** like I’m hearing just takes away from the people of that generation that had to truly fight for something.
Just because someone is on television and played ball doesn’t mean they wouldn’t do something in bad taste. With all the EGO it would make them a more likely person to touch and expect a warm response..
GET A CLUE PEOPLE..YOUR NEIGHBOR COULD BE A MOLESTER, YOU DON’T REALLY KNOW ANYONE.
hey joe w…..you’re an *******!
harold….you are the man!
see ya on fox; espn can iss my black ***!
I can’t help but think that Joe W may be on to something. ESPN had to have known the kind of following and respect Harold has. He seems like such an awesome guy and he really sheds a lot of light on so many things that only former baseball players can. I hate it, but there must have been some real merit to the accusations.
I guess I am an ******* too, Brian.
It is a sad day at ESPN when a man like Harold Reynolds is fired over a hug. He was the best baseball analyst the network had and baseball tonight will never be the same. I think Fox Sports will gain a lot of viewers because of this and I hope they do. I hope Harold sues and wins a truckload of money over this defammation of his name.
By the way, Joe W., you are an *******.
Like everyone else, I too was shocked and saddened by Harold’s firing. I have never seen or heard one negative comment about Harold’s work on the air and I’m also a huge fan of the man. But come on folks, nobody on this blog, including Harolds “friend”, really knows what happened and it is totally irresponsible for any one to comment without knowing all of the facts. Talk about your rush to judgment!! Generally there has to be more than one documented infraction, before someone is fired for sexual harrassment, so there is no doubt a lot more to this then Harold’s alleged misinterpreted hug. And for those people that automatically pull the race card when an African American man has been accused of something, please!! Get with the 21st Century.
I cannot believe that Harold Reynolds would be involved in anything close to sexual harassment. A hug?! What idiot of a woman gets someone fired for a hug? This whole incident just makes my opinion of ESPN go even more in the toilet. All they are interested in is having cookie cutter, smart-*** anchors and their ratings. They were driving the whole “A-Rod is domed up” parade, and they were leading the talk about the controversy already brewing between T.O. and Parcells when there was none. The guy was nursing a bad hamstring; it takes time if you want it completely healthy. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no T.O. fan, but come on. Sorry, got a little angry there.
H.R. is truly the reason Baseball Tonight has become the success it is b/c he brought a well-thought out, ballplayer’s perspective to his analysis, and wasn’t afraid to go against the grain. The guy knows the game and is a great speaker and teacher. I can’t say anything about his integrity b/c I don’t know him, but I find it very hard to believe that anyone as smart as him would do anything as stupid as commit sexual harassment, especially since he was recently married. The guy’s got charisma and personality; he probably gets a lot of hugs from women.
espn has made a huge mistake. Harold Reynolds was the best tv personality they had. espn should be ashamed and boycotted. This sounds like big brother ABC is too big of a ***** to go to bat for a guy that was there 11years and made baseball tonight. **** you espn!!!
Along with Peter Gammons, (who I hope will return to ESPN in good health) Harold Reynolds is the glue that makes baseball programming work on ESPN. I have watched Baseball Tonight faithfully for long as Harold has been on the show, and now I haven’t watched one Baseball Tonight show since his firing. Harold knows the game inside and out and is a great teacher to those who may not know the game as well as others. Harold will not only be missed on Baseball Tonight, but on the Little League World Series telecasts where he covers the game thouroughly and works with the kids on improving their skills. Harold is a great ambassador to the game and is a credit to his profession. It is hard to comprehend that these charges could be misinterpreted so badly that it cost him his job. ESPN is now stuck with baseball analysts that couldn’t hold Harold’s jock strap such as Orestes Destrada or whatever his name is. ESPN will surely miss him after he hooks up with FOX.
Harold Reynolds will bounce back from this in no time at all and make everyone at ESPN look like fools. He truly is a man of class and the main reason that I faithfully watch baseball tonight and little league baseball. I am going to boycott ESPN entirely until they give a public explanation of what happenned. We sure do miss you Harold, and by the way Joe W. you really are an *******!
Steven Peeler from the above comment, are you from Oklahoma!?!
Harold Reynolds will sorely be missed. Not only did he get along well with everyone, he was an insightful commentator who could score points with his honesty and wit. Watching the Little League World Series without him is a loss. He was a communicator and a student of the game. Having him dismissed without releasing relevant details leaves us all wondering what he could have done to deserve this kind of treatment. Time will tell that Reynolds was developing into one of the premier commentators of baseball. I hope that he is picked up by a sports network or team with a little backbone. Move on, Harold, and shake the dust of ESPN from your clothes!
Man, they don’t fire people unless they did it. So you know he did it. I am tired of hearing about race. That is what those people do.
I wonder, is ESPN immune from any controversy? Why is no one taking the sports network to task? It’s been over a month now and the god of sports has no comment on the Harold Reynolds matter. I’m tired of ESPN. Before Corey Lidle’s widow knew of the pitchers sad death Espn was reporting that he was the pilot of a plane that hit a building in N.Y. city. The poor widow had to find out via television reports while the n.y.p.d. wouldn’t give out names until the next of kin were notified. Why has no one taken the network to task for that? I believe that we, the public that actually run that network, deserve to know what’s going on with the reynolds firing. I hope Mr. Reynolds did nothing wrong and sues the network for milions. They deserve it for their smugness and arrogance.
I’m a former ballplayer & student of the game. Mr. Reynold’s gives insightful, interesting, & thought provoking commentary. I don’t always agree w/ him but find he statements a reasoned position, and, almost always, beyond what a non athlete is able to relate. Until I hear facts that would suggest otherwise, I’m going to surmize that ESPN overreacted. However, the race business is nonsense.
Well first off **** Joe w and Perry and really **** TZ who thinks everybody who has been fired deserved it. What a dumb *** as far as Mr. Reynolds is concerned I am sure the facts will come out soon and these dumb *** people will soon know the truth or maybe not but to pass judgement and not no **** is foolish. So I will sit back and wait to see before I judge.
Maybe it was a hug with a reach-around. And to reply to “Harold’s Friend” comment about what consititutes sexual harrasment. If I were to grap a female’s crotch by what you wrote that doesn’t constitute sexual harrasment until she says I should stop it. That makes no sense!
I have always enjoyed Harold Reynolds and find it hard to believe he is guilty of sexual harassment. Baseball Tonight is not the same without him. John Kruk is ok but he is no Harold Reynolds.
Jani, that would be assault, not harrassment. I miss HReynolds as an analyst and really hope it is a misunderstanding. I find it hard to believe that ESPN’s HR department could be that inept as to leave it open for a lawsuit if the firing was without merit, just as I find it hard to believe that HReynolds would act in such a way… but I remember how well most people thought of OJ too. It showed that the public really does not know these personalities as well as we think we do. Anyways, all the best for HReynolds. btw, I agree I’d like to see ESPN ditch Irvin and I’m sure they would if it weren’t for the fact that he has access to some players that no one else has. I’m tired of his T.O. lovefest. Give it a rest and be an analyst instead of a sideshow.
About time! HR is a complete moron and I have been saying this for YEARS. I would go on at work about how he seems ignorant on all things with the exception of baseball and my co-workers would always disagree with me. Well, well, well… about damn time he was fired! Sexual harrasment? Sure, ok.. fine. I personally believe he was fired for just being a dumbass but that’s just me.
Nothing against Harold; he’s good at what he does. But we don’t know what happened, so how can we make any decissions? That alone is pretty ****** on espn’s side. They don’t have to give names if identity is what they’re worried about, but they need to give info from their side. They know how much people like Harold. They’re totally ******** themselves and don’t see it. Maybe FOX is a better place for Harold.
Well no one said anything about Michael Irwin and his recent involvement in drugs. Why didn’t they fire him on the spot? Especially knowing about his past. We all don’t know the facts and it is ashame that espn not putting any facts about what happen. They have no problem airing other peoples dirty laundry and reporting things on the spot. They really need to state some of the facts so people can know the truth. So hard for me to believe the man got fired a hug. There has got to be more to the story. Man! when Kobe Bryant was accussed of rape they were all over that story. What espn needs is some real competition. There’s no other networks out there doing what they are doing. I remember cnn si , but they failed. Well I hope they put all the facts out there. Also you don’t know a man’s character just by listening to him on television. You have to know him personally.
To throw in my thoughts, I was a fan of Harold while playing ten years for the Mariners……..at no time during his time in Seattle …..was there any reported stories dealing with anything other than his postive influence on the ball club and his community service. It seems just too far out of character for an indivdual with no blemishes on his record.
Joe
December 19, 2006
In this day and age of egos, big contracts and TOO MANY people reporting on sports – Harold Reynolds was always fresh, up-to-date, analized the games, players, etc. – better than anyone else. I am truly saddened to hear that ESPN let a first class person like Harold leave his position. ESPN has no idea that they lost one of the BEST in the sports broadcasting business but in life. I remember listening to Harold Reynolds share her Christian beliefs with some fans who really looked up to him and were taking every word in.
Harold NEVER turned down an autograph request – and made a point of putting a BIBLE verse on whatever he is siging. A true class act – May God Bless Always …. Roger
I don’t think race has nothing to do with this. I work in human resource and i can tell you that just a hug can’t get you fired. I can’t beleive espn did not support and protect Mr. Reynolds. That tells me something more than we know went on or that they have dumbass human resource people.Which I doubt, my guess is mr.Reynolds has done something. I personally like Mr. Reynolds, he calls games as well as anyone in the business. IT will come out what exactly happen and ESPN is doing what there lawyers are telling them ,and that is don’t say a word.
I was a fan of Harold’s analysis, but after 11 years with espn I’m sure they checked into the allegations before they fired him. It wasn’t racist when they hired the man, it wasn’t racist when they gave him a new contract, and it’s not racist now. If Harold is truly innocent, then he will file a lawsuit against espn or the alleged victim and most likely win. No one would want to live with that stigma. So, if he doesn’t file a lawsuit then it should all be very clear. I saw a photo of him and a woman that seemed a little “off” to me before any of this came out. Alone, it doesn’t mean anything, but look at it and decide for yourself. Go to http://www.clearbuck.com and look in the photos section. The woman had posed with many well-known former baseball players and the one with Harold showed strange looks on her face and his (very different looks). Again, I hope I’m wrong, I really used to like the guy and in a way still do. But if he doesn’t fight it, then you have to at least wonder.
Wow, what’s amazing to me is that a man with so much love and support for the game of baseball, can be fired from the station that he truely believed in. This is just another way to get a black man out of a Sport BLACK ATHLETES are all together leaving. Baseball can go down in history as the sport low income people can no longer afford. Why cant we just accept the fact that they are ripping the sport off of very skilled and articulate people. Hey Harold tell those people to go $$$$ off. When young college baseball players cant even go into the outfield in some hick town (OKLAHOMA) not be called the N word, somethings wrong. They aren’t even offering the good baseball player scholarships anymore. We have to be seen at a poor JC, then get drafted (hopefully) or been seen by some small NAIA university or DIVISION 2 school. THANK GOD YOUR ABILITIES SPEAK FOR THEMSELVE. We are subjected to seeing Oral or Fernando V, for baseball analysizm. What a travisty.
always the same! a black man or a minority always gets the hack by corporate america when something like this happens. not only espn has fired this man but also ruined his life with those accusations. you have to wonder if this was a set up. hope all the truth comes out as this gets investigated. good luck harold!
I can not believe so many supporters without knowing what really happend. How can you go and assume things ? People can be deceiving no matter on race , color or age. This man has a long history of harrassment – and not just one person but many women – obviously, he went too far this time . I know this information from within so please refrain yourself on the “assumptions” without really knowing …
I will miss Harold too and i do not agree with what they did. To fire a person for a hug it seems a little bit awkward to be honest. I agree to fire a person for real sexual harassment not for a simple hug. There are plenty of people addicted to drugs or following drug rehab programs but nobody seems to see them.
[...] to incorporate baseball terminology into my daily language, and this blog is no exception. Like Harold Reynolds around cute women, I too want to ‘Touch ‘em all’, although I won’t hesitate [...]
Okay, who was pulling the race card in the first place? Most people (with a few exceptions) who said they thought something was going on didn’t mention race. I personally think something else was going on (on the “inside”) that had nothing to do with race. I mean they hired Eric Young, didn’t they? It’s stupid to say it was about race, but that’s not what a lot people are saying in the first place. I am a big fan of Harold Reynolds and it sucks that he got fired. I really doubt he did ANYTHING at all. He’s an awesome guy and a Christian, and I think ESPN made a big mistake.