Marly Rivera, a longtime baseball reporter, was recently fired by ESPN after she was seen cussing out another journalist at New York’s Yankee Stadium.
The 49-year-old national reported was in attending during the New York Yankees’ game against the Los Angeles Angels on April 18 with plans to get an exclusive interview with Aaron Judge.
However, the interview was quickly concluded when a fight broke out between Rivera and fellow reporter, Ivón Gaete, who showed up at the same time to interview Judge.
Rivera told Gaete that she had a specific scheduled time to interview Judge, but Gaete ignored the explanation. While Judge began signing autographs for fans, the ESPN reporter called Gaete a “f—— c—” , which happened to be caught on camera.
After the incident, her profile was removed from the ESPN website and spokesman Josh Krulewitz went on to confirm that the reporter is no longer employed by their institution. “She no longer works here,” he said, according to various news outlets.
(Warning: The Video Below Contains Course Language. Viewer Discretion Is Advised)
In addition to the spokesman confirming her departure from the network, Rivera herself confirmed she was let go during an interview with The Post. “I fully accept responsibility for what I said, which I should not have,” she shared. “There were extenuating circumstances but that in no way is an excuse for my actions.”
Marly Rivera believes she was “singled out” by ESPN.
Continuing, she also said her firing was not entirely because of her comments towards Gaete. According to the reporter, she believes ESPN was waiting for an excuse to let her go. “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,” she explained.
Rivera also said she personally apologized to Gaete, but Gaete did not accept her apology. The former ESPN employee deactivated her Twitter account after the incident as well.
Although the reporter was fired due to inappropriate language used against another reporter, it was during the same week ESPN was laying off management positions throughout the network. The company also said on-air talent layoffs will begin soon.
ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro issued a memo to employees that stated, “We will have another wave of notifications that will be completed by the start of the summer for those that are not in front-facing talent roles
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