I’m including a link to a string of text messages that lay at the center of scandalous made against a male Sports Center news anchor and the ESPN organization by a female employee.
Link to Text Messages ⇓
https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4330012/ESPNtexts.pdf
I read this text exchange thoroughly and I must say, I’m a bit confused by this one. I can’t gather whether this was inappropriate or not, unless we’re fundamentally calling inappropriateness based solely on the man’s position in the company. In all of the conversation around workplace relationships, I haven’t heard inappropriate behavior called out based solely on this. If this isn’t the sole basis that we are using to establish inappropriate behavior, then again, I’m having a tough time finding it in this text.
The exchange seems to me to be mutual. I measure its mutuality by determining who’s initiating communication and if the nature of the communication being initiated goes beyond professional. Once both are inviting one another to each other’s place, scheduling road trips, and having adult beverages, then to me I have found mutuality.
Within the context of their personal engagement outside of the workplace, there was some professional mentoring taking place as well. This to me, still seems to take place within the context of their personal exchange and not the other way around, where personal exchange was taking place within the context of their professional relationship.
With all this being considered, my larger question is what are we asking, as a society, when it comes to relationships among workplace colleagues, when there is no policy clearly in place at the workplace? Are we not willing to let adults navigate these difficult waters on their own and preferring to let the courts decide on these matters? Where are we on this?