ESPN national baseball reporter Marly Rivera has been fired from the network after hurling an expletive at a fellow female reporter following a disagreement.
In a statement to USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday, ESPN confirmed that Rivera “no longer works here.” Rivera’s bio is no longer listed along the network’s other employees.
The network did not comment further on the incident.
According to The New York Post, Rivera and reporter Ivón Gaete both attempted to interview New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge ahead of New York’s 5-2 loss to the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium on April 18. Rivera reportedly told Gaete that she previously scheduled the time to interview Judge, but Rivera said Gaete ignored her.
Rivera then called Gaete an “expletive,” which was captured on film.
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“I fully accept responsibility for what I said, which I should not have,” Rivera said in a statement to The New York Post. “There were extenuating circumstances but that in no way is an excuse for my actions.”
Rivera, a bilingual writer and reporter, covered the New York Yankees and the MLB for ESPN and ESPN Deportes. She alleges her termination is not just over the insult.
“I am a professional with a sterling reputation across baseball,” Rivera told The Post. “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, a freelance reporter, is the wife of MLB vice president of communications John Blundell.
