A sports reporter says she was 'violated' by fans during her post-game television coverage of the Georgia-Clemson match on Saturday, prompting divisive response from social media users.
Lyndsey Gough, a sports reporter for WTOC in Georgia, shared video on her Twitter account where she repeatedly asks apparently drunk fans not to touch her or her equipment.
'Got all kinds of violated during my first live hit by fans,' she tweeted.
Then, in a post featuring video of the incident, she said: 'After the first guy touched me I started rolling... this isn't even all of it. So uncomfortable. Can we please respect people's space.'
The footage shows several fans approach Gough, touch her and attempt to interact with her while she works.
She is heard saying 'please don't touch me,' 'excuse you,' and 'please don't touch my equipment, please don't' to fans exiting the game who got near her.
Toward the end of the video, she moves off to the side, no longer in view of the camera, and tells her production team: 'I've got to move.'
Following the incident, Gough said she was ok.
'I was startled and frazzled but we recovered,' she tweeted.
After posting the video, Gough received mixed response from social media users.
Some said she was in the right while others argued that she needed to pursue a new career.
'Touching is out of the question. Period. However, setting up in the middle of "Their Space" & demanding everyone obey your arbitrary rules is ridiculous,' wrote @CleanGreenDeal.
'You cannot just camp in the middle of people & say "follow my rules" even if your media. No one agreed to this.'
Gough shared video on her Twitter account where she repeatedly asks apparently drunk fans not to touch her or her equipment
The footage shows several fans approach Gough, touch her and attempt to interact with her while she works
She is heard saying 'please don't touch me,' 'excuse you,' and 'please don't touch my equipment, please don't' to fans exiting the game who got near her
Gough responded: 'I don’t think not touching strangers is a made up rule i think that’s basic manners.'
'You could try not standing in the middle of the exit while the game is letting out. You’re like those weather reporters standing in a flooded ditch trying to tell everyone theres catastrophic flooding happening,' twitter user @Brianwi81677636 said, to which answered: 'that wasn't the exit'.
'You set up on a walkway in a stadium with celebrating fans. If you wanted to talk about the end of the game, pretty much everywhere was better,' echoed @Dwobers.
'If you don't want fan interaction, don't place yourself directly in the way of fans.'
'I'm with you that noone should touch you,' replied @OrangeBl00ded.
'But I think even if it were a man, the fans would react the same. They are celebrating, and many are intoxicated. Positioning yourself right there was asking for interaction, male or female.'
After posting the video, Gough received mixed response from social media users
'Female field reporters like yourself at gameday sites should have another individual with you, besides solely a camera operator, to serve as a buffer/bodyguard from unruly fans or touchy men while you try to just do your job. Sorry that happened but you handled it well,' @justajeremy39 wrote.
'I nearly had a panic attack watching this,' added @VyronykaVyxyn.
'If a male reporter were standing in the same place, those men would have given him space while they drunk-yelled at the camera. Unacceptable.'
The journalist has not accused any of the fans involved in the incident of sexual violation.
According to her bio on the WTOC website, Gough is a seasoned sports reporter, having most recently covered university sports in Kentucky before joining the Savannah, Georgia based station.
In addition to regular season matches, Gough has covered multiple NCAA Tournament berths, bowl games, state championships, a Heisman Trophy winner, two Kentucky Derbies and more.
Gough posted the footage to Twitter with a caption reading: 'After the first guy touched me I started rolling... this isn't even all of it. So uncomfortable. Can we please respect people's space'
Gough says the incident left her 'startled and frazzled' but she is ok now
No comments:
Post a Comment