Howard Eskin now banned by Sixers after unwanted advances at Phillies game. Other teams, WIP should follow suit.

Heavy lies the crown on the King these days.

The Inquirer reported Tuesday that Howard Eskin, the undisputed champion of sports talk radio since WIP went all-sports in 1986, has been banned from Citizens Bank Park since May for forcing a kiss on a female Aramark employee during a Phillies game in one of the ballpark’s exclusive seating areas. WIP’s parent company, Audacy, levied the ban.

By midday Wednesday, after team executives met regarding the matter, the Sixers decided to lock out the King, too. A 76ers spokesperson told The Inquirer that the team does not intend to offer Eskin access to its training complex until further notice. The team has also asked the Wells Fargo Center, where it is a tenant, to not grant access to its games or team activities for the foreseeable future. That request will be honored, according to a spokesperson from Comcast Spectacor, the landlord.

Good for the Sixers.

Eskin, 73, was dubbed “The King” long ago by Pete Rose, the disgraced former Phillie. Eskin semiretired from sports talk 13 years ago, but he still makes regular appearances on other shows and has a regular spot on WIP on Saturday mornings. He won’t be hosting Saturday, but Audacy, which did not fire, suspend, or ban him from its airwaves, says it has no plans to fire, suspend, or ban him now that his transgression is public. Eskin also is a sideline reporter during Eagles games for WIP.

Which is … troubling.

At the very least, if his employers or the teams won’t ban him, just take a leave. Come back in the spring. If he’s smart, he’ll go away, because this isn’t going away any time soon.

Contacted Wednesday, an Audacy spokesperson declined to elaborate on why Eskin was going to be allowed back on the air. The spokesperson also did not explain how Audacy came to the decision, or if the company was restricted in what forms of action it was able to take in the matter.

After the story was published Tuesday, Audacy issued a company wide email that verified the incident, referred to its internal investigation, cited how the situation was addressed, and identified the incident as “harassment.”

The Phillies were contacted regarding their plans for Eskin. They also were asked why the incident was not made public. They did not address either question directly, but issued this statement:

“The Phillies’ number one priority was making sure the victim felt protected and satisfied with the response to this incident. Once that was addressed, our focus was making sure that all other employees and guests at Citizens Bank Park were protected from similar conduct. Audacy, as Howard Eskin’s employer, informed us that they were suspending him indefinitely from Citizens Bank Park. This response addressed each of the Phillies’ primary concerns, and as a result, we supported Audacy’s decision.”

The Eagles and Flyers also were contacted regarding their plans for Eskin going forward. Both teams indicated that they were monitoring the situation.

“We became aware of the incident regarding Mr. Eskin yesterday and will continue to monitor the situation,” the Flyers said through a spokesperson Wednesday.

The Eagles, who are in their usual summer break, offered similar sentiments.

Eskin has not responded to Inquirer requests for comment.

It’s a sticky situation.

We’ve seen bigger names undone in similar circumstances: Former Minnesota Sen. Al Franken resigned after one similar allegation levied in November 2017 blossomed into several more within a month. No other victims have stepped forward to accuse Eskin, though the matter only became public less than 24 hours ago.

How should we regard this?

Should he be canceled? Semi-canceled? Non-canceled?

One thing is for certain: Whether or not Eskin survives the scandal, this will define his complicated legacy.

Eskin has been a lightning rod in Philly for nearly four decades. The fallout from his continued presence could be extremely ugly — from organized protests to boycotts of the station to vulgar and aggressive verbal attacks levied at Eskin in public and on social media.

I completely understand if some folks want a harsh penalty for Eskin. I wouldn’t argue with them. What was done is completely unacceptable and maybe illegal.

Pennsylvania law classifies an unwanted kiss as sexual harassment, as defined by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and can be considered sexual assault. No criminal or civil actions have been brought so far, and none are planned, according to a professional sports source.

This is not the first time a Philadelphia media member faced accusations of inappropriate behavior.

The late Bill Conlin, a former colleague of mine as a columnist at the Daily News, abruptly retired in 2011 after The Inquirer published accusations of rampant child molestation. These accusations never were proved or adjudicated, but they were heinous. Conlin simply disappeared from all print and broadcast media. Eskin frequently referenced Conlin’s disgraced exit.

These are not apples-to-apples comparisons — the allegations against Conlin are far more dire than Eskin’s unwanted kiss — but no unwanted advances should be allowed. None.

If you think this isn’t a big deal, consider if it was your wife or daughter Eskin kissed. Pretty sure your perspective might change.

The way the ban has been levied, it sounds as if Eskin will be allowed back at the Bank either for the 2024 playoffs or for the 2025 season. And, again, Eskin will remain on the airwaves.

Lots of questions linger.

One: Why did it take so long for this news to surface? A tip from a league source recently told The Inquirer about the Audacy ban after Eskin’s absence had been noted by several observers. It might be an Audacy internal policy to not make public internal discipline, and it might be a labor rights matter; again, the company declined to elaborate. Frankly, the way it went down, it makes Audacy and the Phillies look like they covered up a sexual harassment incident.

Two: Why would either the Phillies or Audacy ever put Eskin back on the site where he did what he did? The statement says the victim is “satisfied” with the suspension, and even if that’s completely true, what about the other female workers in the ballpark? Don’t they understand how traumatic this might be for all of them?

Three: How will the public react to Eskin’s reemergence on radio? What does Audacy expect to gain? Isn’t there a catastrophic risk that listeners might revolt? Will Eskin discuss the issue? What listener is going to ignore the incident? Given the chance Wednesday, Audacy did not address those questions.

Four: Is Eskin’s celebrity status protecting him? Probably. Would a low-level producer or a less significant on-air talent be dealt with more harshly by the station and the teams? Probably.

Five: Is a ballpark suspension enough? Feels light … but, is this a fireable offense?

This last one I will answer. But first, some background and context.

For the past four years, I have been a part-time host at WIP. In fact, I am scheduled to host late Friday night and late next Wednesday night. Tune in.

Howard’s son, Spike Eskin, pursued and hired me for this role when he was the station’s program director. Spike has since left, returned, and now is an afternoon host himself.

I’m not the only Inky scribe with connections. My fellow Inquirer columnist Mike Sielski also is a WIP employee. He has had a regular show on Saturdays for more than a year. Many, if not all, of the writers on the Inquirer sports staff appear as call-in guests on the various shows.

Like every longtime journalist in Philadelphia, where I’ve worked for 28 years, I have a history with Howard.

In the past few years, on the air, he’s accused me of being a racist, which went unpunished. In the past few weeks, on the air, he’s accused me of fabricating sources; he was directed to apologize and retract that accusation.

Once or twice, I’ve teased Eskin in print about his provocative style of questioning at press conferences and his pejorative style as a radio host. That said, I’ve always respected his hard work — he’s everywhere — his reporting, and his grasp of sports gambling: He was the original betting adviser, “Vegas Vic,” in the Daily News.

I’ve never been a fan of Howard. Believe this: This opinion carries as little bias as I can muster.

So:

I don’t think Eskin should be fired.

I’d suggest that Audacy suspend Eskin until May. That would be a full year from the time of the incident.

That would remove Eskin from view during the Eagles’ preseason, season, possible playoff run, free agency, and the draft — all huge moments in the Philadelphia sports calendar. It also would remove Eskin from view during the Phillies’ magical 2024 season and their likely postseason run, as well as baseball free agency, spring training 2025, and opening day 2025.

Further, I’d suggest every team ban Eskin for a full season. If the Flyers or Sixers have any sort of playoff run, that would extend the ban through June 2025.

Sometimes it’s not so good to be King.