Fox Sports fires Charlie Dixon after he was accused of sexual battery by 2 ex-employees, his lawyer says
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FS1 executive producer of content Charlie Dixon, who has been accused of sexual battery in two lawsuits by former employees and of sexual assault in one of the lawsuits, is no longer with Fox Sports.
An attorney for Dixon said in a statement emailed to The Times late Monday night that his client had been told by Fox Sports “that he was being let go for violating company policy” in a matter that had nothing to do with the lawsuits filed in January.
“According to the network, Mr. Dixon did not disclose to human resources or the legal department that a third-party production company had hired his wife as a temporary freelancer,” wrote attorney John Ly, who is representing Dixon in the separate civil lawsuits filed this year by former network anchor and reporter Julie Stewart-Binks and hairstylist Noushin Faraji.
“But the reality is that Mr. Dixon had asked his supervisor about the hire and was told that there were no objections.”
Former Fox Sports anchor and reporter Julie Stewart-Binks has accused Charlie Dixon, one of her ex-bosses at the network, of sexually assaulting her in 2016.
Ly added: “It is noteworthy that a Fox spokesperson made no reference to the company investigation of sexual harassment claims in announcing Mr. Dixon’s departure. Mr. Dixon has cooperated fully with the investigation and denies engaging in any inappropriate conduct.”
Ly did not immediately respond to further questions from The Times.
Fox Sports, reached by email Tuesday morning, would only confirm that Dixon is no long employed by the company.
“Charlie Dixon is no longer with FOX Sports,” the network stated. “There is no further comment at this time.”
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In her lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Jan. 31, Stewart-Binks accused Dixon of holding her against a wall, “forcefully” pressing his body against hers and trying “to force his tongue into her mouth” following a work-related meeting in 2016.
Soon after the incident, the lawsuit states, Stewart-Binks’ contract with Fox was not renewed. The lawsuit alleges sexual assault and sexual battery as causes of action against all defendants, which include Dixon, Fox Sports and its parent company, Fox Corp.
Asked in January about the lawsuit and its allegations, Fox Sports emailed a statement: “These allegations are from over eight years ago. At the time, we promptly hired a third-party firm to investigate and addressed the matter based on their findings.”
Dixon was also among the defendants in Faraji’s lawsuit, which was filed in L.A. County Superior Court in early January. In it, he is accused of “rubbing her body and grabbing her buttocks” without Faraji’s permission at a birthday party for another Fox Sports employee. The lawsuit alleges sexual battery and hostile work environment as causes of action against Dixon.
Noushin Faraji has accused ex-Fox Sports host Skip Bayless of making unwanted sexual advances toward her, including offering the hairstylist $1.5 million to have sex with him, a lawsuit states.
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