ESPN President Resigns, Writes of 'Embarrassment'

John Skipper says he will tend to a substance problem

By Newser Editors, Newser Staff

Posted Dec 18, 2017 11:35 AM CST

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ESPN President Resigns Over Substance Problem — ESPN President John Skipper speaks at a news conference during the Atlantic Coast Conference Football Kickoff in Charlotte, NC, on July 21, 2016. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

ESPN President John Skipper resigned Monday to tend to what he frames as a long-running but unspecified substance problem. "I have struggled for many years with a substance addiction. I have decided that the most important thing I can do right now is to take care of my problem," he says in a statement, per ESPN, noting that he comes "to this public disclosure with embarrassment, trepidation, and a feeling of having let others I care about down."

He says he brought his decision to the company, and that ESPN is in mutual agreement. "I will always appreciate the human understanding and warmth that Bob [Iger] displayed here and always," the 61-year-old added. Former President George Bodenheimer will take over for a 90-day period while a replacement is found. Skipper came to ESPN in 1997 and became president in 2012. (Read more ESPN stories.)