Sports radio's Howard Eskin banned from Citizens Bank Park for inappropriate advance

Longtime Philadelphia sports radio and television personality Howard Eskin has been banned from Citizens Bank Park for the remainder of the MLB season for what has been termed an unwelcome advance toward an Aramark employee in a Phillies stadium club.

Audacy, the parent company of WIP radio issued a statement regarding the incident,  which NBC 10 Philadelphia reports occurred in May.

"We learned of an unwelcome kiss by Howard Eskin towards an Aramark employee at Citizens Bank Park. We take these matters very seriously. We immediately investigated and took action to address the matter," Audacy said in a statement. Reportedly, it was Audacy that took the action to ban Eskin from the park for the remainder of the season.

The broadcasting company and the Phillies conducted an investigation and mutually agreed that a suspension was warranted, confirmed Debbie Albert, Aramark's senior vice president of corporate affairs.

"The safety of our employees is paramount, and when we learned that an Aramark employee had been subjected to an unwanted advance by an Audacy employee, we immediately began an investigation, which corroborated the allegations. We then worked with Audacy and the Phillies to ensure that appropriate steps were taken to protect our employee and all of the Aramark employees at Citizens Bank Park," Albert said.

"The Phillies take these allegations very seriously,” a Phillies spokesperson provided in a statement Wednesday. “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."

On Wednesday, the Philadelphia 76ers also banned Eskin from the team’s training facility in Camden, New Jersey, NBC10 reported.

Sixers denying access to Howard Eskin

"The team does not intend to offer Eskin access to its training complex until further notice," a 76ers spokesperson told NBC10. "The team has also asked Wells Fargo Center -- where it is a tenant -- to not grant access to its games or activities for the foreseeable future."

An Eagles team spokesperson told Pro Football Talk that the Birds are monitoring the situation and are in contact with Audacy. Eskin serves as the Eagles sideline reporter for the team's radio broadcasts.

Eskin, 73, has been both a major presence and a polarizing figure in Philadelphia sports since the 1980s on both radio and television, where he has had stints as sports anchor for Fox 29, CBS3 and NBC10.

He was one of the first hosts on WIP-AM (610), which has since moved to 94.1-FM.

Eskin's son Spike is a drivetime afternoon host at WIP. On Wednesday's broadcast, he addressed his father's situation.

“I don’t feel comfortable, at all, speaking on the issue itself as I would not if it was anybody else here at WIP,” said Spike Eskin at the top of the afternoon drive, a time slot his father once handled.

Spike Eskin said his cohosts and listeners deserved to hear from him on the issue.

“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,” said Spike Eskin. “He is not me. I think we have made that very clear over the years for better or for worse.”

Audacy has indicated it will keep Howard Eskin's Saturday morning call-in show.

USA Today contributed to this report.