Former ESPN reporter Marly Rivera cites long-standing feud with female colleague as the root cause of her emotional outburst
Baseball reporter Marly Rivera was fired by ESPN on Wednesday in the wake of her cursing at another reporter last week. This caused an uproar among her fans, many wanting her to return to her position.
As Ivón Gaete and Rivera waited to interview New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge, Rivera screamed at her and called her a "f*****g c**t." The incident was recorded by Gaete's cameraman.
Rivera told the New York Post that she was angry that Gaete had tried to interview Judge. Rivera said she had scheduled time to interview Judge and felt that Gaete had intruded on that exclusivity.
In the interview with the New York Post, Rivera said she tried to apologize to Gaete after the incident, but Gaete did not accept the apology.
“I fully accept responsibility for what I said, which I should not have," Rivera said. "There were extenuating circumstances, but that in no way is an excuse for my actions."
However, Rivera said that she believed she was "singled out by a group of individuals with whom I have a long history of professional disagreements." Gaete is married to John Blundell, the MLB Vice President of Communications.
“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.”
Marly Rivera deletes all her social media after her firing
On Wednesday, Marly Rivera's social media accounts were disabled after it was confirmed by ESPN that she had been fired. Rivera's bio has also been removed from the ESPN website. ESPN confirmed to the New York Post in a statement that Rivera was fired:
“She no longer works here.”
Rivera worked with ESPN for 13 years.