Newly unsealed court documents show that business-focused cable-news host Stephanie Ruhle had far more insight into Under Armour’s business than previously disclosed, thanks to a tight relationship with the former CEO. According to The Wall Street Journal, those documents—part of a shareholder lawsuit alleging Under Armour inflated its own share price, creating significant losses—showed that Ruhle had a cell phone and email address dedicated solely to communications with then-Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank. It was through these 2015 and 2016 emails that Ruhle would receive sensitive company documents, talking points to refute negative banking reports about Under Armour’s finances, and a secret recording in which Plank blasted the company’s chief financial officer as a “motherfucker.” Plank described Ruhle, who was then an anchor for Bloomberg and now hosts The 11th Hour on MSNBC, as a “confidant” in a deposition and said they would exchange advice with each other on their respective careers. Ruhle admitted the discrepancy in her own deposition, noting they “were friends and I covered his company.”
