Marcellus Wiley appears to be mulling his own legal action against Fox Sports following the bombshell lawsuit filed by a former Fox hairdresser against Skip Bayless, executive vice president Charlie Dixon, Joy Taylor, FS1, FS2, and Fox Corp. itself.
In a preview clip of an upcoming interview with Jason Whitlock , the former co-host of FS1’s Speak for Yourself discussed the possibility of suing his former employer.
In the 42-page sexual battery lawsuit filed by hairdresser Noushin Faraji, she alleges current Speak co-host Joy Taylor was “sleeping” with Dixon, executive vice president of content at FS1, who oversees the network’s weekday studio lineup.
Wiley left Fox in 2022 after hosting Speak for Yourself for four years; first with Whitlock and then with Emmanuel Acho. In the fall of 2022, FS1 rebranded Wiley’s former show as Speak–and replaced Wiley with Taylor and LeSean McCoy. It was a huge career victory for Taylor, enabling her to serve as one of the few female sports “opinionists” on TV, rather than a supporting role as a moderator or sideline reporter. Taylor now co-hosts Speak with Keyshawn Johnson and Paul Pierce, while Acho co-hosts The Facility morning show.
In the preview clip, Whitlock asks Wiley if he was treated fairly by FS1—and whether the alleged Dixon-Taylor relationship has him weighing a suit of his own.
“People have reached out to me, let me just be real about that. People are coming at me from a lot of different directions, including legally saying, ‘Marcellus, take another look at what you went through,’” said Wiley. “I’m trying to take that look right now. Because I know of the influences that were around me. I know what they offered me. When I say ‘offered,’ I’m being loose with this. Because as you look back on it, you start to realize the first thing they said to me is, ‘We’re not doing that show again. And we’re not doing it with you. So now we want to do something with you, what can that be?’ But that, right there in itself, became a tornado of nothing. We just went around in a bunch of circles to the point where I said, ‘It’s time for me to bet on myself, because I feel like I’m getting the run-around here.’”
Still, the former NFL player, ESPN host, and Columbia University graduate told Whitlock he has not decided whether to sue Fox.
“Lawyers are reaching out to me. Because when they saw me get surprised by the allegations, especially the one about Charlie Dixon, they said, ‘That is actionable.’ Now I’m trying to make sure that everything that I went through, and everything that I read in that article, is actually true. … Look, I’ve been two years removed from it. I didn’t try to burn down Emmanuel Acho, knowing that he was plotting. Joy Taylor? I still see her all the time. I wasn’t trying to burn her down—even though I knew she was plotting. To me, that’s just like going to coach after the game saying, ‘Hey, you know, if you give me the ball, I’ll get more yards.’ But if you bring it from another perspective, that coach is actually doing something on the side, and that’s influencing his decision more than just the production, the numbers, that’s a different conversation.”
Plenty of people consider lawsuits but never file. Wiley might be just thinking out loud with his old Speak for Yourself co-host. Or he might genuinely feel he was not given a fair shot by FS1 management. The Fox scandal has generated public comments from sports media personalities ranging from ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith to Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy. It was probably inevitable that Wiley, who knows just about everyone named in the suit, would give his two cents. To be fair to Fox, these are all allegations—nothing less, nothing more. It’s possible Fox chose not to settle with Faraji before her suit went public. That could mean Fox is confident the suit amounts to nothing more than a shakedown and that they will be vindicated in court. Both Taylor and Acho were back on the air Monday and Tuesday.
In a statement to FOS, Fox stated: “We take these allegations seriously and have no further comment at this time given this pending litigation.”
Wiley could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. Fox has declined further comment since its initial statement on Sunday.
Whitlock’s full interview with Wiley is expected to post Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET.
