Eric Weinberger is the president of the Bill Simmons Media Group, The Ringer. On Tuesday, December 12, the company released a statement in which they announced that Weinberger had been suspended “indefinitely” following allegations of sexual misconduct.
“These are very serious and disturbing allegations that we were made aware of today. We are placing Eric on leave indefinitely until we have a better understanding of what transpired during his time at the NFL, and we will conduct our own internal investigation,” a spokesperson for The Ringer told the New York Times.
Here is what you need to know:
1. He Is 1 of Several Men Named in a Lawsuit Filed by Jami Cantor
InstagramJami Cantor.
Weinberger is named in a lawsuit against NFL Enterprises. The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by a former NFL Network employee named Jami Cantor. Cantor, who worked as a stylist at the network, claims she was sexually harassed by Weinberger, and went into great detail about what she claims happened.
Cantor also made similar claims against ex-NFLers Marshall Faulk, Donovan McNabb, Ike Taylor and Heath Evans, all of whom have been suspended from the NFL Network.
You can see a copy of the lawsuit here.
Cantor filed the lawsuit in October, one year after she was fired from the NFL Network. According to Deadspin, Cantor filed a wrongful termination suit.
“She complained about working conditions as well as a lack of reimbursement for expenses and failure to compensate,” Deadspin reports.
2. Cantor Claims Weinberger ‘Sent Her Nude Photos’ & ‘Sexually Explicit Texts’
InstagramJami Cantor.
Cantor claims Weinberger “sent several nude pictures” and he sent “sexually explicit texts” to her. One of the texts allegedly reads, “Watching you walk down the hall makes me crazy, your a** drives me insane.”
Cantor also claims that Weinberger made sexual advances toward her. At one point, Cantor alleges that Weinberger “pressed his crotch” against her and “asked her to touch it.”
“In addition to the incidents described above, Cantor notes Weinberger requesting that she join him in an office bathroom because he was ‘super horny,'” Deadspin reports.
3. He Became President of Bill Simmons Media Group in 2015 & Took on The Ringer
Weinberger became president of Bill Simmons Media Group in November 2015.
“I can’t wait to start working with Eric. He’s a talented guy with an impeccable reputation, someone who is uniquely equipped to help me build an innovative multi-media company from scratch. We’re both beyond excited to start brainstorming about my show and other HBO Sports projects as well. I know from experience that you’re only as good as the people around you, and Eric is one of the very best,” Bill Simmons said in a statement at the time.
For the past couple of years, Weinberger has served as president of The Ringer, a sports/pop culture website that is an affiliate of SB Nation. As of this past June, The Ringer had 5 million monthly unique page views, according to CNBC. The site employs about 70 people on a full-time basis, but has been struggling to find its footing.
“If The Ringer is really going to achieve its full potential and make the most of this second chance with the help of Vox Media, it’s important that Simmons and his president, Eric Weinberger, really look in the mirror. Neither one of them has shown himself to be adept at running this business to date,” Eric Jackson wrote in a column for CNBC a few months ago.
4. He Has Produced Several Shows Including 10 Episodes of ‘After the Thrones’
Weinberger is quite experienced in the business. In 2016, he was named the executive producer of After the Thrones, a talk-show series about HBO’s popular show, Game of Thrones. Additionally, Weinberger worked as a producer on The Best Damn Sports Show Period from 2001 through 2003.
“Weinberger has experience in awards, events, and live studio shows as well as sports and entertainment programming during his tenure at NFL Network. As an exec producer, he helped create more than 2,500 hours of live studio programming that included NFL All Access, NFL GameDay Morning, NFL GameDay Final, Around the NFL Live and more,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
5. He Is a Father of 4 & Used to Play Hockey
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Weinberger married his wife, Alexandra Kreisler, in 1997, exchanging vows at the Puck Building in New York. At the time, Kreisler worked as a manager of comedy series programming for ABC Entertainment. They both graduated from Union College in Schenectady, New York, where Weinberger obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree.
“Since July 2002, Ms. Weinberger served as executive director, comedy series for Touchstone Television. She joined Touchstone in September 2000 as director, comedy series. Before that she was director of development for Mohawk Productions, where she worked on comedies. Before joining Mohawk, Ms. Weinberger spent three years at ABC as manager, comedy series. Ms. Weinberger began her career at The Late Show With David Letterman as a talent and writer’s assistant,” TV Week reported back in 2003.
According to her IMDb page, Kreisler hasn’t done much work in the business since 2004. It is likely that she chose to be a stay-at-home mom to the couple’s four children.
Few details are known about Weinberger’s marriage. It does not appear as though his wife has any public-facing social media accounts.
Before breaking into the NFL world, Weinberger used to play hockey. According to his Twitter bio, he played goalie. You can check out his college hockey stats here.
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Eric Weinberger: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know