John Skipper, who abruptly resigned as president of ESPN on Dec. 18, revealed in a hollywoodreporter.com report posted on Thursday that he left the sports giant after “someone from whom I bought cocaine attempted to extort me.”

Skipper worked 27 years for Disney, owner of ESPN.

Upon his resignation, Skipper, 62, admitted publicly to a years-long “substance abuse” problem. He confirmed to hollywoodreporter.com that the substance was cocaine. Skipper insisted that “my drug use never had any professional repercussions,” but after the attempted extortion “I understood immediately that threat put me and my family at risk, and this exposure would put my professional life at risk as well.”

Skipper said he was a social drinker, but also that “I worked at ‘Rolling Stone’ for the first 10 years of my professional life. I had a point of view that recreational drugs were recreational, that they weren’t dangerous. That they could be used without repercussions.”

Skipper’s resignation came as a shock to his co-workers. “This person has created everything that exists here at ESPN,” said radio host Dan Le Batard, according to the New York Times.

The timing of his resignation, as the #metoo movement was gaining momentum, inspired rumors of inappropriate sexual conduct. Skipper adamantly denied those reports to hollywoodreporter.com.

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“Categorically and definitely not true,” he said. “My behavior relative to women was always respectful. I did not touch anybody inappropriately. I did not tell off-color jokes. I treated everybody with respect.”