Ex-announcer Franklin settles lawsuit against ESPN

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Former ESPN announcer Ron Franklin and ESPN have reached a settlement in Franklin's lawsuit against the network, which stemmed from his January 2011 dismissal after a contentious conversation with co-worker Jeannine Edwards.

"The case has been resolved amicably," Franklin said Friday. His attorney, Tom Nesbitt of Austin, and ESPN officials had no comment on the settlement, and terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Franklin, the former Houston sports television anchorman and Oilers and Texas Longhorns play-by-play announcer who worked for ESPN for 25 years, filed suit in Travis County district court in Austin on behalf of his company, Ron Franklin Productions, after he was fired Jan. 5, 2011.

During a conversation with Edwards in Atlanta prior to the Chik-fil-A Bowl in December 2010, Franklin is said to have addressed Edwards as "sweet baby" when she attempted to join a conversation about a non-work-related matter and, after she objected to the phrase, he replied, "Do you want me to talk ugly to you, like '(bleep)?' "

Franklin's only on-camera appearance since his firing was the Samford-Chattanooga college football game with former ESPN colleague Mike Gottfried last November on a local station in Birmingham, Ala.

He said Friday he hopes to return to broadcasting.

"I have talked to people who said they would like for the litigation to be over and now it is," he said. "I don't expect people to beat the door down, but there has to be somebody looking for a guy who does what I do."

david.barron@chron.com