Jayden Collins
ESPN reporter Marly Rivera has been fired after she was caught on camera calling a rival reporter a ‘f***ing c***’.
The New York Post reports that the MBL analyst was on assignment at Yankee Stadium for the game between the New York side and the Angels.
Before the game, Rivera and fellow reporter Ivon Gaete had gotten into an argument over attempts to interview Yankees captain Aaron Judge.
Gaete had been on assignment representing Tokyo Broadcasting, with Shohei Ohtani also in town.
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The report says that Rivera had told Gaete that she had set up a time with Judge for an interview, however, was ignored.
During their disagreement, Rivera reportedly said the words ‘f***ing c***’, which were caught on camera.
TMZ Sports obtained footage of the argument where Rivera hurled the words toward Gaete, who was clearly taken aback by the remark.
The publication says that the two reporters lingered around the area for a while after as Rivera attempted to apologise, however, it didn’t appear as though it was accepted.
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ESPN later confirmed that they had indeed let go of the 49-year-old.
In a statement to The Post, Rivera accepted that her actions were unprofessional, however, claimed that she was being ‘singled out’.
She said: “I fully accept responsibility for what I said, which I should not have.
“There were extenuating circumstances but that in no way is an excuse for my actions. 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.”
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Rivera had been a prominent figure across ESPN’s baseball coverage.
She had been a dugout reporter on the Home Run Derby, appeared on Sunday Night Baseball telecasts, and has been an analyst on ESPN Radio.
With a Latin background, and as a bilingual speaker she had brought a different perspective to the broadcaster’s coverage.
Gaete, meanwhile, is the wife of MLB vice president of Communications, John Blundell, and had had disagreements with Rivera over the years.
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Rivera had been at ESPN for 13 years and had mainly covered the Yankees both on air and in written capacities.
SPORTbible reached out to ESPN for comment.