A former Fox Sports activities reporter and anchor filed a lawsuit Friday in opposition to the community and prime government Charlie Dixon, saying he sexually assaulted her after coaxing her as much as his lodge room to debate Tremendous Bowl plans in 2016 and was later pushed out of her job for combating again.
Julie Stewart-Binks stated in her grievance, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court docket, that she was impressed to talk up after a former hairstylist for Fox Sports activities filed a lawsuit on Jan. 5 saying a former host had made repeated undesirable sexual advances towards her and that Dixon had groped her.
Fegyveresi didn’t reply to a request to elaborate on what the investigation discovered or how their findings had been addressed.
The Related Press doesn’t typically determine those that say they’ve been sexually assaulted or subjected to abuse except they’ve given permission to determine them. Stewart-Binks’ legal professionals stated she gave the AP permission to make use of her identify.
Stewart-Binks coated soccer and hockey in Canada and moved to Los Angeles in 2013 to hitch the group at Fox Sports activities 1, the lawsuit stated. She was invited to cowl the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics as a number and returned to report on the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, the Stanley Cup playoffs and the U.S. males’s and ladies’s nationwide soccer groups. Within the fall of 2014, she was the principle sideline reporter for the Anaheim Geese.
Jamie Horowitz grew to become president of Fox Sports activities in Might 2015 and employed Dixon two months later to be the manager vice chairman of content material, the lawsuit stated. “The two had the power to pick and choose who would be on camera for the networks,” the lawsuit stated.
Within the buildup to the 2016 Tremendous Bowl, plans had been underway for the present “Jason Whitlock’s House Party By the Bay” and Stewart-Binks was advised she was going to seem on this system, the lawsuit stated. The night time earlier than her assembly with the present’s group, she acquired a textual content from Dixon asking her to fulfill him at his lodge, the lawsuit stated.
In response to the lawsuit, Dixon advised her they wanted to speak concerning the present, after which started berating her, saying he didn’t need her going to the Tremendous Bowl as a result of she wasn’t “funny, interesting or talented.” He stated she wasn’t “capable of handling big moments on TV” and folks would solely watch if she acquired on the bar and took off her prime,” the lawsuit stated.
As Stewart-Binks scrambled to give you a response that will present her expertise, Dixon invited her to his lodge room to see the view from his balcony, the swimsuit stated. She agreed, reluctantly. However as soon as on the balcony, Dixon pushed her in opposition to the wall, pinned down her arms, pressed his physique in opposition to hers and tried to power his tongue into her mouth, the lawsuit stated.
Stewart-Binks pushed him away and ran from the room, the swimsuit stated. She didn’t say something about it on the group’s Tremendous Bowl assembly the next day and she or he was confirmed to seem on the Whitlock present. Nonetheless, she was advised that she needed to confront New England Patriots tight finish Ron Gronkowski about his stint at a stripper in school.
She resisted the concept of asking for his “Magic Mike” strikes however after Dixon’s feedback the night time earlier than, she needed to show that she might be enjoyable, so she requested for a lap dance, the lawsuit stated.
Stewart-Binks stated she confronted a direct backlash on social media from individuals who stated she was setting ladies again by way of her actions.
She solely went public after seeing the lawsuit filed by the previous Fox hairstylist who made related claims. Stewart-Binks’ lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for emotional misery and asks that Fox be required to take motion to forestall any present or future sexual abuse.
“Ms. Stewart-Binks hopes that by seeking justice, and by doing so publicly, sports networks will recognize the necessity of ridding those who abuse power and those who protect them,” the lawsuit stated.
Since leaving Fox Sports activities, Stewart-Binks has accomplished work for a lot of media retailers together with ESPN, CBS Sports activities, NBC Sports activities, and TNT. She additionally was a correspondent for the CBC in Canada throughout its protection of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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AP Sports activities reporter Joe Reedy in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
