In a new investigative piece out Wednesday, former ESPN senior VP of production and current WWE head of media & production Lee Fitting was fired by his former employer after being accused of years of misconduct behind the scenes which included both sexually suggestive comments and objectifying comments toward women.
WWE, owned by TKO, did not provide a comment to The Athletic/New York Times for the story. Fitting was hired by WWE this past January after being fired by ESPN/Disney in late-August 2023. He had been with ESPN for over 25 years and headed up the network’s popular ‘College Gameday’ show.
A complaint was made to ESPN’s HR department regarding Fitting which led to a further investigation. He was fired shortly thereafter.
Through a spokesperson, the 49-year-old denied some of the allegations to the media outlet while not addressing others. He also “declined to comment on the broader characterization of him as someone who mistreated women during his tenure at ESPN or why he was let go by the network.”
The outlet spoke to more 20 women, six of which were talked to as part of the HR investigation.
Among the accusations toward Fitting outlined in full in the article:
- In 2012 while around employees, he commented on a non-employee’s ability to chug beer and opined she would be good at oral sex. He denied this happening.
- In 2014, he offered up his lap for a woman to sit after there were no remaining chairs in a production meeting. He denied this happening.
- He sent a text to a female employee in 2018 that read, “You look hot.”
- He made jokes about performing bed checks and “jokingly” asked a female staffer for her hotel room number. He denied this happening.
- He discussed and bragged about he and his wife’s sex life.
- “When he saw a woman in an outfit he liked, he’d let her know, sometimes in ways women and other employees found crude and/or humiliating.”
- Around 2017, an employee asked to meet with Fitting in NYC to discuss opportunities. She claimed he asked if he should get a hotel room for the night which she interpreted as a room for the two of them. He said she misinterpreted the claim and that he was asking if she should get a conference room.
To the allegations of him commenting on women’s looks/hairstyles/outfits, Fitting’s spokesperson said, “it was his job to provide feedback to male and female on-air talent regarding their appearance and on-air delivery.”
Things began to turn against Fitting in 2023 after a scandal broke regarding falsified submissions for Emmy awards which led to ‘College Gameday’ getting 30 statues they never actually won. He was banned from future Emmy participation and shortly thereafter, HR began their aforementioned investigation.
From the article:
“Multiple people said they described to an HR official instances in which they believed Fitting engaged in inappropriate conduct and/or discriminated against women. Two current ESPN executives briefed about the result of the HR investigation said the findings gave the company little choice but to let Fitting go.
Fitting, through his spokesperson, declined to address why his employment was terminated by ESPN.”
Kendra Barkoff-Lamy, the spokesperson for Janel Grant, released the following statement:
“How can WWE claim they are committed to improving the company’s culture, and at the same time, hire a man earlier this year who was accused of sexual misconduct and workplace harassment in his previous role? The allegations against Lee Fitting during his time at ESPN are extremely concerning. Revelations like this are why Janel Grant’s lawyers sent a letter to WWE and Endeavor, urging them to release all current and former employees from their NDAs. The same old boys club who enabled Janel Grant’s abuse are continuing to put alleged predators in leadership roles, and this pattern must change once and for all.”
