ESPN is currently in the midst of massive layoffs, but one of their employees made things very easy for them after what she said.
The Worldwide Leader in Sports fired national baseball reporter Marly Rivera after she used vulgar language during a confrontation with another female sports journalist, according to a report from Andrew Marchand of the New York Post.
The prominent baseball reporter had a heated interaction with a colleague. This altercation reportedly led to her firing.
Since the firing, more details have since come out:
“Before the Yankees-Angels game, Rivera and fellow reporter Ivón Gaete had a disagreement when Gaete arrived in an attempt to also interview Judge.
Rivera said she set up a time with the Yankees captain and when she repeatedly tried to tell Gaete of the appointment, Gaete ignored it.
During the heat of the disagreement, Rivera said the words, “f–king c—t,” which was caught on video.
After the recording of the incident, Rivera tried to apologize, but was rebuffed by Gaete.”
Rivera went insanely viral last year with an interview of Judge she asked a rather uncomfortable question regarding Judge’s impending free agency. She informed him of a story about a friend who has a son named Jacob who was upset over the rumors that Judge may have been leaving the Bronx at the end of last season, so Rivera gave Judge a chance to make him less nervous.
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“Jacob, buddy, we got a lot of great Yankees on this team. There are a lot of great Yankees that’ll be here for a long time, so, you know, don’t be upset,” he said. “Hopefully, you’ll be a Judge fan for life.”
Judge ultimately re-signed with the team this past offseason.
The company issued a release to The Post, ESPN stated: “She no longer works here.”
“I fully accept responsibility for what I said, which I should not have,” Rivera told the Post. “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.”
Gaete is a freelance journalist who was working on an assignment for Tokyo Broadcasting. She is married to John Blundell, who serves as Major League Baseball’s vice president of communications.
For Rivera, she covered Major League Baseball for ESPN and ESPN Deportes as a writer and on-air personality for the past 13 years.
