Why it matters that a former ESPN-er filed a discrimination complaint alleging sexual harassment

Sports Illustrated

As Sports Illustrated explains, former ESPN fellow Adrienne Lawrence’s filing of a discrimination complaint with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities against ESPN and anchor John Buccigross “means that she swore under oath as to her claims against ESPN. This is an important distinction from a person who only raises assertions during a media interview. A person who swears under oath does under penalty of perjury. If he or she knowingly lies, they can be charged with the felony crime of perjury. A sworn statement by no means guarantees the veracity of the allegations—a complainant often recalls the past in an unintentionally distortive or inaccurate way; perjury is also a difficult crime to prosecute since the prosecutor must prove that a defendant knowingly lied. Nonetheless, such a statement lends some degree of credibility to the complainant’s assertions.”