The son of a Philadelphia sports radio icon, banned for his “unwanted advances” toward 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 WIP host and listeners tuned in on Wednesday to hear whether he would address the unpleasant incident.
Less than 24 hours after news broke of Spike’s season-long suspension (which came after he gave an “unwanted kiss” to a female employee at Citizens Bank Park), Spike spoke to listeners to give their opinion.
“There’s a story about my father,” he began. “You’ve probably read it, you’ve probably heard of it. But the truth is that he and I are different people who do different things.
‘Even though he did this job and I do this job, I’m not him, he’s not me. I think we’ve made that very clear over the years, for better or worse. So I don’t feel comfortable at all talking about the subject itself, any more than I would if it were anyone else here at WIP.
Howard Eskin has been a fixture on the Philadelphia sports scene since the 1980s.
On Wednesday, his son Spike (left) spoke out about his father being banned from Phillies ballpark.
‘It’s a problem between them and the radio station and the people involved, it’s not a problem with me. As far as this show is concerned, and as far as I’m concerned, we’re going to go on this show exactly as we always do. There won’t be any difference. Things will take their course. And from now on, that’s all I can do.
“The reason is I feel like it’s the right thing to do, the respectful thing to do, and honestly, these four hours of my day are 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 all I can or will say.”
Howard Eskin, 73, was accused of giving an “unwanted kiss” to an unnamed Aramark employee in May, triggering an investigation that has now resulted in his suspension.
He The Philadelphia Inquirer The incident reportedly occurred before a game at the CP Rankin Club, an exclusive seating area behind home plate.
Eskin allegedly attempted to kiss the woman as she backed away and she then filed a complaint with 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 the air and there are no plans to pull his radio show from the schedule despite not being allowed into the stadium for the remainder of the season.
In a statement, Aramark confirmed to the media that one of its employees “had been the subject of an unwanted approach by an Audacy employee.”
Eskin did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Phillies also issued a statement saying: “We are cooperating with our partners at Audacy and Aramark in their investigations. We support Audacy’s decision to suspend Howard Eskin from Citizens Bank Park.”
Eskin is accused of giving an “unwanted kiss” to a stadium employee during a game in May
Eskin has hosted a sports radio show in the Philadelphia area since 1986, and became known in the 1990s for calling listeners “dummies” or “geniuses” depending on whether they agreed with his opinions.
He has appeared as a sideline reporter for the Eagles and regularly broadcasts Phillies games as part of his role for WIP.
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 is expected to continue as usual, although the Inquirer reports he will be off the air next week due to an unrelated matter.
