Former ESPN president John Skipper: I resigned after my cocaine dealer attempted to extort me

The Hollywood Reporter

Skipper's abrupt resignation on Monday, Dec. 18, 2017 -- just five days after he presided over a companywide meeting -- caught everybody off guard. Skipper said in his resignation announcement he was stepping down due to a substance addiction problem. Three months later, Skipper is speaking out about the nature of his problem. He tells ESPN history James Andrew Miller that he had been a long time casual user of cocaine. He never did it at work, nor with any of his colleagues. He was able to keep his illegal drug use secret. That is, until days before his resignation. "In December, someone from whom I bought cocaine attempted to extort me," he said. Skipper says "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. 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." Skipper admits he used "very poor judgment," adding: "Look, it was inappropriate for the president of ESPN and an officer of The Walt Disney Co. to be associated in any way with any of this. I do want to make it clear, however, that anything I did in this regard, and anything else resulting from this, was a personal problem. My drug use never had any professional repercussions, but I still have profound regret."