The $5 million question, wrapped in Reynolds

We've got no problem separating Harold Reynolds, the broadcaster, from Harold Reynolds, the married guy (that's him, left, with the little woman) who just wanted a little hug and got his heart stomped on because of it.
As an ESPN studio and baseball game analyst, there are far better talents in the organization than the former Seattle Mariners player (who ended his career with the Angels). For the last 11 seasons, HR has panned out to be remarkably average, predictable and hardly insightful. Yet, a few months ago, the network decided to give him a six-year contract extension, at $1 mil per. That's their own idiotic decision.
Now, as for a guy of high ethical standards, it's hard to bicker over his resume. On his personal website, he lists all the Roberto Clemente Awards for charitable works, his Boys and Girls Club activity, his ability to serve as a chaplan for teams that need a religous word or two, etc.
So when the network abruptly canned him in July for an egregious act that it wouldn't even make public, Reynolds justifiably asked why. He didn't get a satisfactory answer. So Monday, he filed a $5 million lawsuit that, thanks to a site called BizofBaseball.com, you can read for yourself. It of course is also on The Smoking Gun, but you coulda figured that one out.

The suit says HR was "a consistently hard worker, with a polite, respectful and engaging personality." That, and a six-year contract, apparently is what ESPN wanted.
Later, Reynolds admits in July that he "gave a brief and innocuous hug to a female intern" whom he later took out to dinner at Boston Market (so you know it wasn't a date), he never saw her again, and three weeks later, she complained to the company.
The latest account of Reynolds suit in USA Today gives ESPN's stance as saying this is "without merit."
Yup, it's gonna get ugly before it gets better.
And the thing HR has to figure out: Is it worth trying to circle the bases here, or is something else coming out later about some (more) bad behavior?
And with ESPN's track record in sexual harassment (see the Michael Freeman 2002 book, "ESPN: An Uncensored History), you can be sure their lawyers are locked and loaded with private investigators memos, documented missteps and other ammo to stop this from happening at any cost. Or, they're desperate to get out of that insane $1 mil-per-season deal that someone in corporate approved.
Is HR looking for a financial settlement, or does he want to clear his name?
Or does he think someone out there will actually hire him as a game analyst after all this?
Yuck.