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The NFL Network suspended Pro Football Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk and fellow analysts Heath Evans and Ike Taylor "pending an investigation" into allegations of sexual harassment and assault, the network announced. The allegations were made in a lawsuit by former NFL Network employee Jami Cantor, who sued NFL Enterprises in Los Angeles Superior Court in October.
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Cantor, who worked as a wardrobe stylist with the company from 2006 until she was fired in October 2016, alleges age and sex discrimination, sexual harassment and hostile work environment, and wrongful termination, among other complaints.
Former NFL Network executive Eric Weinberger, ex-NFL Network analyst Donovan McNabb and former NFL player Eric Davis were also named in the lawsuit. McNabb currently works for ESPN as a radio host while Davis works for ESPNLA Radio, although ESPN said in a statement that "McNabb and Davis will not appear on our networks as that investigation proceeds."
Former NFL Network analyst Warren Sapp was also named in the lawsuit, as well as former network employee Marc Watts. Sapp was fired from the network in 2015 after being arrested for assault and soliciting prostitution.
"Marshall Faulk, Ike Taylor, and Heath Evans have been suspended from their duties at NFL Network pending an investigation into these allegations," an NFL Network spokesperson said in a statement to SI.com.
Weinberger, now president of The Bill Simmons Media Group, has been placed on indefinite leave by the company.
"These are very serious and disturbing allegations that we were made aware of today," a spokesman for The Bill Simmons Media Group said in a statement. "We are placing Eric on leave indefinitely until we have a better understanding of what transpired during his time at the NFL (Network), and we will conduct our own internal investigation."
In her lawsuit, Cantor claims that Faulk fondled her breasts, groped her behind and asked Cantor "deeply personal and invasive questions" about her sex life.
Cantor also said she received inappropriate and sexually explicit texts from Evans, McNabb, Taylor and Weinberger.
"The supervisors knew about it, the supervisors observed it," Cantor's lawyer, Laura Horton, said in an interview with the New York Times on Monday. "It was insidious in this particular environment."
Faulk, who is a seven-time Pro Bowler, won the Super Bowl with the Rams and retired in 2007.
Taylor played 12 seasons with the Steelers, winning two Super Bowl titles before retiring in 2015.
Evans played with four different teams in 10 seasons, winning a championship with the Saints in 2010 before retiring the following year.
