Bill Simmons, owner of the sports and pop culture website and podcast The Ringer, has filed a temporary retraining order against of his former employees, Us Weekly can confirm.
Simmons, 48, filed the protective order against Joseph Fuentes on Friday, June 8, according to documents obtained by Us. Fuentes was hired as The Ringer’s Digital Audio Director back in March 2016, The Wrap reports.
The documents also reveal that Simmons asked the court to include other employees and family in the order, prompting the judge to rule that Fuentes must stay 100 yards away from everyone listed. According to the papers, Fuentes made “a credible threat of violence” against Simmons following his April termination for “poor performance issues.”
He also allegedly began sending his former coworkers strange messages, telling one woman that they should go on a date and he would treat her like a “queen.” Fuentes also reportedly returned to The Ringer studio in Los Angeles many times after he was fired. The studio emailed him asking that he stop contacting employees.
A hearing date has been set for Monday, July 2.
Simmons launched The Ringer site in the spring of 2016 and started The Bill Simmons Podcast Network in October 2015, which has since been retitled The Ringer Podcast Network. The podcast has been downloaded more than 35 million times, per The Wrap.
