ESPN suspends Kornheiser for comments about Storm

[February 24, 2010]  BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) -- ESPN has suspended host Tony Kornheiser from his television talk show "Pardon the Interruption" for two weeks for comments he made on the radio last week about SportsCenter anchor Hannah Storm's clothing.

Kornheiser announced the suspension on his Washington D.C. radio show Tuesday morning, calling his remarks about Storm intemperate and stupid.

"As the result of this, I have been sent to the sidelines of PTI for a while," Kornheiser said.

In a written release Tuesday, ESPN called Kornheiser's comments inappropriate.

"Hurtful and personal comments such as these are not acceptable and have significant consequences," said John Skipper, ESPN's vice president for content. "Tony has been suspended from PTI for two weeks. Hannah is a respected colleague who has been an integral part of the success of our morning SportsCenter."

Kornheiser described an outfit Storm was wearing at ESPN last week as "horrifying," saying her shirt was too tight and looked "like she has sausage casing wrapping around her upper body."

Kornheiser said he had called Storm to personally apologize for the remarks.

"If you put a live microphone in front of somebody, eventually that person will say something wrong," Kornheiser said on his show Tuesday. "This was one of the times I said something wrong."

Storm declined to comment, ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz said.

ESPN has been troubled by a series of workplace issues involving alleged misconduct by its television personalities, though they have involved behavior off the air.

[Associated Press]

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