Tony Kornheiser, host of ESPN’s weekday show Pardon The Interruption, has been suspended from the network for two weeks starting Monday, after bad-mouthing Hannah Storm’s choice of clothing, according to USA Today. On Friday, Kornheiser called what the ESPN anchor wore a “horrifying outfit” with “red go-go boots” and a skirt that was “way too short for somebody her age.”He added: “She’s what I would call a Holden Caulfield fantasy at this point.” Kornheiser made the comments Friday on ESPN’s Washington, D.C., affiliate. ESPN executive vice president John Skipper said in a statement that the comments were “entirely inappropriate.
Hurtful and personal comments such as these are not acceptable and have significant consequences.” Since the incident, Kornheiser has both apologize on-air as well as to Storm personally and said that he wouldn’t be talking about the mishap in interviews.
The 67-year-old Kornheiser, known for his caustic remarks, said the 47-year-old Storm looked like "a Holden Caulfield fantasy" when she wore a skirt he described as "way too short for somebody in her 40s or maybe early 50s by now."
"She looks like she has sausage casing wrapping around her upper body," he said. "I know she's very good, and I'm not supposed to be critical of ESPN... But Hannah Storm today? Come on now. Stop. What are you doing?"
Kornheiser apologized for his comments the next day on his radio show.
"I'm a sarcastic, subversive guy...I'm a troll, look at me. I have no right to insult what anybody looks like or what anybody wears. That, I think, should go without saying," he said.
