ESPN fired baseball reporter Marly Rivera after she used a vulgar insult to address a rival journalist competing for an interview, according to reports on Wednesday.
Rivera, a bilingual analyst and writer who appeared on ESPN, ESPN Radio and ESPN Deportes, reserved time to interview New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge on April 18 before New York played the Los Angeles Angels.
But Ivon Gaete, a freelance reporter who was also at Yankee Stadium to chat with Judge, ignored Rivera’s reminders of the appointment, the New York Post reported.
Rivera was caught on video calling Gaete a “fucking cunt,” apparently prompting her dismissal.
Rivera “no longer works here,” ESPN informed USA Today in a statement.
Rivera reportedly apologized, but Gaete wouldn’t accept. HuffPost couldn’t immediately reach Gaete for comment.
In the footage, shared by TMZ on Thursday, the two can be seen having an apparently heated conversation while Judge signs autographs nearby. Rivera then blurts out the expletive and the shocked Gaete asks the cameraperson if they caught the exchange. Judge can be seen telling Gaete he would talk with her later.
“I fully accept responsibility for what I said, which I should not have,” Rivera said, per Deadline.
Rivera claimed there was context. She said she has had run-ins with Gaete’s husband, John Blundell, the MLB vice president of communications, according to the New York Post.
“I am a professional with a sterling reputation across baseball and I do believe that I am being singled out by a group of individuals with whom I have a long history of professional disagreements,” Rivera said.
Rivera had worked for ESPN since 2011, Awful Announcing wrote.
