\u201c[John] Skipper was an absolute nightmare for me,\u201d Cohn, 66, said. \u201cI had a thing about why he suspended me [in 2017]. He bullied me. He never gave me opportunities. And it\u2019s karma, baby. I mean we saw what happened to him. Listen I dont wish anything bad on anybody even if they treated me the way I should not have been treated.\u201d <\/p>\n
Cohn claimed Skipper bullied her during a 2017 phone call, during which he suspended her for remarks she made about ESPN following a round of a layoffs during an interview with\u00a077 WABC\u2019s Sid Rosenberg. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was shocked. I was devastated,\u201d Cohn said. \u201cThat had never happened to me\u2026 He [Skipper] gets on the phone and he\u2019s yelling at me. And now When I look back on it, I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if he was on something because he sounded not right. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe was yelling at me [and] bullying me. I go, \u2018John, what\u2019s going on?\u2019 I really had no idea what he was talking about. I couldn\u2019t believe it. So, I was suspended for whatever. \u2018Don\u2019t come in.\u2019 I\u2019m like \u2018Okay, I won\u2019t come in.\u2019 But I was really upset. I was close to tears. I don\u2019t like being bullied, and I definitely don\u2019t like being bullied for no reason. Be the adult for God sakes\u2026 can you explain or clarify? \u2026 I was there for decades at that point.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steele mentioned that Cohn was told to take the day off of \u201cSportsCenter,\u201d indicating that it wasn\u2019t a formal suspension. <\/p>\n
![\"Linda](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/linda-2_01c6b2.jpg\")
Linda Cohn anchoring \u201cSportsCenter\u201d at ESPN. Instagram\/Linda Cohn<\/p>\n
Skipper \u2014 who became ESPN president in 2012 \u2014 suddenly resigned in December 2017 after 27 years with The Walt Disney Company, citing his desire to seek treatment for what he called \u201csubstance addiction.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a 2018 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Skipper shared that his substance addiction was cocaine<\/a> \u2014 and explained that his abrupt resignation came after \u201csomeone from whom I bought cocaine attempted to extort me\u201d and threatened his family.<\/p>\n Cohn said she was \u201ccast aside\u201d from doing NHL coverage and put in a box at the \u201cSportsCenter\u201d desk.<\/p>\n \u201cThe last year I was technically at ESPN, they cut my salary by 80 percent when they closed the LA studio,\u201d Cohn said referring to ESPN\u2019s relocation of \u201cSportsCenter\u201d from Los Angeles to Bristol, CT, in March 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt bad for my colleagues.. they told them six weeks before they decided to close that studio for \u201cSportsCenter,’\u201d Cohn said. \u201c\u2026 At that point my deal was up and I was like I\u2019m not gonna let them rush me into a decision and I didn\u2019t want to end my tenure that way.\u201d<\/p>\n In an interview with The Post<\/a> that June, Cohn said she signed on for one more year with ESPN in June 2025 and agreed to do some events after flirting with the idea of retirement.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cSo I accepted their 80 percent pay cut and I said, \u2018Hey let me do some events for you\u2019 \u2026 I actually signed a deal that was 15 events for appearances for ESPN. Loyalty doesn\u2019t pay because I\u2019ll tell you something\u2026 If you Google me for what I made, that\u2019s all incorrect. I ended up doing about five events. I was like out of sight, out of mind.\u201d<\/p>\n Cohn, who said she felt pushed out of ESPN, left when her deal was up on June 30. <\/p>\n She said she pitched doing off-camera work, such as becoming an ambassador for the company, and claims she was ignored.<\/p>\n Cohn said she sobbed in the bathroom multiple times over people she worked with that \u201cmade me feel like crap\u201d on-air.<\/p>\n Cohn explained that ESPN was \u201cfirst going to put out a press release\u201d about her leaving the Worldwide Leader before she got a proper farewell and celebration of her career on-air. <\/p>\n![\"John](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Skipper.jpg\")
John Skipper attends the premiere of \u201cMiss Brown\u201d during Shorts: Tapestry at 2023 Tribeca Festival at AMC 19th Street on June 8, 2023 in New York City. Getty Images for Tribeca Festiva<\/p>\n