WIP’s Howard Eskin misses his Saturday show again following ‘unwelcome kiss’ at Citizens Bank Park

Longtime 94.1 WIP-FM host Howard Eskin did not appear on his Saturday morning show, and has yet to publicly speak since allegations surfaced about improper behavior at Citizens Bank Park.

Sources at the station, who were not authorized to speak on the record, said Eskin’s absence from his Saturday morning show for the second week in a row was a decision made out of deference to Glen Macnow, who is retiring from WIP and was scheduled to host his final show immediately after Eskin logged off. In Eskin’s place was a rerun of the station’s morning show, hosted by Joe DeCamara and Jon Ritchie.

Eskin was also absent from his show last week, due to a preplanned vacation.

Eskin is banned from Citizens Bank Park for the rest of the season after an investigation found he made an unwanted advance toward a female Aramark employee in the CP Rankin Club behind home plate in May. Eskin has also been barred from the Sixers’ practice facility in Camden, according to Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes, who is also employed by WIP.

» READ MORE: Glen Macnow, ‘The Professor’ of Philly sports, prepares to say goodbye to WIP after three decades

The Eagles have not commented publicly on Eskin, who serves as WIP’s sideline reporter during Eagles games, alongside announcers Merrill Reese and Mike Quick.

Outside of a statement from WIP’s parent company, Audacy, confirming what they called an “unwelcome kiss,” the station has largely remained silent about the situation. Eskin hasn’t been suspended, but has yet to appear on WIP shows since the news became public. He’s been active on social media, but has opted against posting about the allegations.

“The entire city is talking about the Eskin mess right now, but not the station where he developed his reputation?” former 94.1 WIP host Angelo Cataldi wrote in a blog post. “It’s a place where people talk, nonstop, 24 hours a day.”

WIP host Spike Eskin, Howard’s son, addressed the allegations briefly on the air earlier this month, but only to tell listeners he didn’t “feel comfortable” commenting on the situation.

Howard Eskin, a graduate of Northeast High School, hosted WIP’s first sports talk show in 1986, and has been an outsized presence at the station ever since. He took a reduced role in 2011, but still appears regularly on the station and hosts a Saturday morning show, often from the Borgata in Atlantic City.