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, made an appointment to interview New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge on April 18 before New York played the Los Angeles Angels.
But Ivon Gaete, a freelance sportscaster who was already at Yankee Stadium chatting with Judge, ignored her, 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 said she apologized, but Gaete wouldn’t accept. HuffPost couldn’t immediately reach Gaete for comment.
“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.
