Harold Reynolds says he plans to sue ESPN for wrongful termination. He was fired as co-host of Baseball Tonight after a female intern accused him of hugging her innapropriately.

Reynolds says he’s just looking to protect his good name:

“I have tried everything possible to handle this situation quietly behind closed doors. After numerous conversations and multiple mediation discussions with ESPN executives, it is clear that ESPN had no intention of solving this problem amicably,” Reynolds said in a statement.

“For 11 years, I served ESPN with enthusiasm and dedication. It is unfortunate that ESPN has handled this process in an unprofessional manner. At the end of the day, my integrity, reputation and family are my top priorities, and for those reasons I need to set the record straight and clear my name.”

The suits at ESPN are sticking to their guns. They say Reynolds’ suit has no validity and they are confident that they made the right decision.

Word on the street is that Reynolds’ innapropriate hug was not his first offense and that several women had complained about his flirtations in the past.

I’m hoping that Reynolds can prove his innocence. He was one of the most liked ESPN personalities. Watching Baseball Tonight without him and Peter Gammons (who missed time after a brain anurysm) this summer just wasn’t the same. Just like PTI isn’t any good without Wilbaun and Kornheiser, Baseball Tonight needs its stars.

At the very least, here’s hoping this lawsuit will shed some light on the one question everybody is dying to know: what exactly does an “innapropriate hug” look like?

It’s official. Harold Reynolds was fired by ESPN for sexual harassment. It seems Reynolds, who had a reputation at ESPN for hounding the Bristol chicks, was fired after a female ESPN employee complained that he hugged her inappropriately at an Outback Steakhouse.

First question: Hadn’t the woman heard that at Outback, inappropriate hugs are just Australian for, “I appreciate the work you do and I really respect you as a colleague”?

Second question: What does an “inappropriate hug” look like? Is it a hug where the man approaches from the front, wraps his arms around the woman and then grabs her butt cheeks? Is it a hug where the man approaches from behind, places his hands on the woman’s breasts and then lets gravity drag them south? What made this hug inappropriate? What makes any hug innapropriate?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Deadspin.com is reporting that Harold Reynolds was fired for sexual harrassment.

The site is running excerpts from various anonymous Bristol staffers, all of whom think Reynolds was canned for chasing too much tail. Apparently, he had a reputation for dogging the ladies, despite the fact that his wife gave birth to the couple’s first child just a few months ago.

Oh Harold, say it aint so.

This came out of left field. The New York Post is reporting that ESPN has fired Harold Reynolds!

Reynolds is not commenting and ESPN won’t say why they’ve fired the Baseball Tonight host.

So what gives? Reynolds is generally viewed as one of the most likeable guys in sports. He was known as a player-friendly television voice. He was named as one of President Bush’s 1,000 points of light, for god’s sake.

And now he’s gone. Why?

Conspiracy theories abound. Did he sleep with an intern? Does he have a drug problem? Did he bad-mouth the company? Did he steal office supplies? Was he watching porn on his desktop computer (Definitely not. The ESPN firewalls won’t even let employees access The Onion)?

Only one thing is for sure: Baseball Tonight, which is already without human baseball encyclopedia Peter Gammons, who is recovering from a brain aneurysm, is a weaker show without Reynolds.