The son of a Philadelphia sports radio icon banned for his ‘unwanted advance’ at a female employee has spoken out to distance himself from his father’s actions.
Spike Eskin – the son of local radio stalwart Howard – is also a host on WIP and listeners tuned in on Wednesday to hear whether he would address the unsavory incident.
Less than 24 hours after news broke of Spike’s season-long ban – which was handed down after he gave an ‘unwanted kiss’ to a female employee at Citizens Bank Park – Spike spoke to listeners to give his thoughts.
‘There is a story out there about my dad,’ he began. ‘You probably read it, you probably heard about it. The truth, though, is that he and I are different people who do different things.
‘Even though he did this job and I do this job, I am not him, he is not me. I think we have made that very clear over the years, for better or for worse. So, I don’t feel comfortable at all speaking on the issue itself, as I would not if it was anybody else here at WIP.
Howard Eskin has been a regular on the Philadelphia sports scene since the 1980s
On Wednesday, his son Spike (left) addressed his father being banned from Phillies’ stadium
‘It is his issue with the radio station and the people involved, it is not my issue. So as far as this show goes, and as far as I go, we are going to this show exactly as we always do. There will be no difference. Things will go as they do. And from this point on, that’ll be it out of me.
‘The reason for that is because I feel it’s the right thing to do, the respectful thing to do, and truthfully this four hours out of my day is the highlight of my day. And I feel like this show is my escape from everything else…I felt like it was the right thing to say something, but that’s about all I can, or will say.’
Howard Eskin, 73, was accused of giving an unnamed Aramark employee an ‘unwelcome kiss’ in May, sparking an investigation that has now resulted in his suspension.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the incident occurred before a game in the CP Rankin Club, an exclusive seating area behind home plate.
Eskin is alleged to have tried to kiss the woman as she backed away, and she then submitted a complaint to management.
Eskin is pictured with Melania Trump at a magazine cover event at the Ritz-Carlton in 2011
Eskin has been banned from Citizens Bank Park for the remainder of the MLB season
Surprisingly, Eskin Sr is expected to remain on air and there are no plans to pull his radio show from the schedule despite him not being allowed in the ballpark for the remainder of the season.
In a statement, Aramark confirmed to the media that one of its employees ‘had been subjected to an unwanted advance by an Audacy employee.’
Eskin did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Phillies also released a statement, which reads: ‘We cooperated with our partners at Audacy and Aramark on their investigations. We support Audacy’s decision to suspend Howard Eskin from Citizens Bank Park.’
Eskin is accused of giving a female stadium employee an ‘unwanted kiss’ at a game in May
Eskin has hosted a sports radio show in the Philadelphia area since 1986, and become known in the 90s for calling listeners either a ‘dope’ or a ‘genius’ depending on whether he agreed with their opinions.
He has appeared as a sideline reporter for the Eagles and regularly broadcasts Phillies games as part of his role for WIP.
Just last week, Eskin was in Sea Isle City with Jason Kelce to support the former center’s Beach Bash fundraiser.
Eskin hosts a two-hour radio show on Saturday mornings and that is expected to continue as usual, although the Inquirer reports he will be off-air this coming week due to an unrelated matter.
