Ryen Russillo Reportedly Suspended By ESPN After Wyoming Arrest
Ryen Russillo will be off the air until September 5 (the day after Labor Day) following his arrest in Jackson, Wyoming, on August 23, reportedly pursuant to a suspension imposed by his employer, ESPN.
The longtime sports personality is the host of The Russillo Show on ESPN radio, which is also simulcast on one of the ESPN television channels.
On August 23, Russillo allegedly wandered into the wrong condo in Jackson, Wyoming, passed out in a bedroom, and as a result faces a criminal trespass charge, a misdemeanor. The ESPN host apparently was on vacation in the Montana/Wyoming area.
According to the Jackson Hole News & Guide, responding cops allegedly found Russillo, 42, drunk and naked (other than his pants wrapped around his ankles) lying in a bed in a spare bedroom at about 3:30 a.m., the probable cause affidavit suggests. The door of the condo may have been unlocked, inasmuch as cops found no signs of forced entry and the residents were unsure if they locked the front door.
The couple who were asleep in the condo heard someone enter. They asked the stranger to leave, but he was reportedly unwilling to do so, at which point they apparently called 911.
Further according to the probable cause affidavit, “He was obviously intoxicated and the only thing he said was that he was getting his stuff,” the News & Guide reported.
Russillo secured his release from Teton County Jail that night on $250 bail and is due back in Jackson Municipal Court on September 13, the Associated Press detailed. Russillo lives in the Hartford, Connecticut, area.
Ryen Russillo will return to ESPN on Sept. 5 after a suspension for his drunken, naked arrest https://t.co/RaozoVSbkJ
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) August 28, 2017
Cops described Russillo as having bloodshot eyes, slurring his speech, and lacking the ability to answer questions.
Criminal trespass (i.e., criminal entry) is a misdemeanor under Wyoming law carrying a maximum fine of $750 and/or up to six months in jail, Sporting News noted.
.@ryenarussillo will return to ESPN Radio on Sept. 5. Sources say he was suspended but returns then.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) August 28, 2017
The Russillo Show was formerly Russillo and Kanell before Danny Kannell was let go by ESPN during the mass layoffs in April. In its previous iteration, it was SVP andRussillo (with Scott Van Pelt). Will Cain is anchoring the show in Russillo’s absence. Russillo has been an ESPN employee for about 10 years.
Although multiple media outlets, such as the New York Post, are reporting the Ryen Russillo two-week suspension by Bristol, Connecticut-based ESPN, the self-named Worldwide Leader in Sports has yet to issue an official confirmation that its radio star is being benched temporarily.
[Featured Image by Jessica Hill/AP Images]
