ESPN fired national baseball reporter Marly Rivera, an ESPN Radio MLB analyst who has also appeared on baseball telecasts, after an incident at Yankee Stadium in which she called a female reporter from another outlet a “fucking cunt” during an altercation. The incident was caught on someone’s cell phone video (of course), and posted on social media. When the clash and the vulgarity got back to Rivera’s employer, ESPN canned her.
Rivera had been with ESPN for 13 years, working for ESPN’s English language platforms as a writer and on-air personality, and for ESPN Deportes. Reportedly she attempted to apologize to the object of her epithet, but was rebuffed.
Your Ethics Alarms Civility Quiz of the Day is…
Was it fair and responsible to fire Rivera for her outburst?
There are a lot of related ethics issues and confounding details attached to this story that might affect your answer….
- Last November I posted about an incident in which a state bar association fired me for uttering the expletive “Fuck!” in the course of dealing with a desperate tech crisis that threatened to derail a Zoom legal ethics seminar minutes before it was scheduled to begin. I was in my own office, the word was not directed at anyone, it was not recorded or heard by anyone but the association’s tech staff (who had screwed up), and nobody said anything at the time indicating they had been grievously offended (as you know, techies never say “fuck”). But one of them complained to the bar president, and I was summarily dismissed from my contract immediately after the program—in which I was terrific, by the way, and covered for multiple tech botches by the hosts. There were material differences in my conduct and Rivera’s, but enough similarity that I have some sympathy for her.
- In her apology (the one given to the news media after her dismissal), Rivera said that she had a previously unblemished record, so I’m assuming she was fired for a single emotional outburst.
- Neither TBS nor HBO took any disciplinary action against their respective political commentary show hosts Samantha Bee and Bill Maher for calling Melania Trump (Bee) and Sarah Palin (Maher) “cunts”…and they both did so deliberately, on national TV.
- The trigger for Rivera’s outburst came at Yankee Stadium before a Yankees-Angels game. Rivera and female reporter Ivón Gaete both wanted to interview Yankee star Aaron Judge. Rivera told Gaete that she had set up an appointment with the Yankee captain, but Gaete ignored her.
- Gaete, a freelance reporter, was on assignment for Tokyo Broadcasting. She is also the wife of MLB vice president of communications, John Blundell. ESPN has large and lucrative contracts with Major League Baseball.
- Clearly, any male reporter who called a female reporter a “fucking cunt” in public would risk being fired. But does the insult mean the same thing—misogyny—when it is hurled by a woman at another woman?
- Would just “fuck” have been enough to get Rivera fired? Would an unenhanced “cunt” have done the trick without “fucking”?
Ethics Alarms 
Your fifth observation is the operative one. The words matter less than the recipient. Say that to a different female reporter, get a reprimand and a demand for an apology.
I fear that is the case.
Yep. Insult the VP’s wife and there will be hell to pay.
In this instance, though, I would suggest that object of the insult deserved exactly what was given her. Rivera had gone through the time and effort to set up an interview with Judge and the interloptrix did just that – she interloped into Rivera’s time and space. Rivera was right to tell to go away. Frankly, I am not all that certain that she should have been fired (but we all know where and who butters the bread!) or that she should have apologized (well, maybe an apology was in store for the crass comment). The Interloptrix owes Rivera an apology for interloping on Rivera’s time and Rivera’s employer should have come to her defense. But, I guess bread must be buttered. Did the Interloptrix get the Queen’s Pass?
jvb
I’m sure a male reporter would have been fired. I’m not opposed to Rivera’s firing, though. It’s a tense situation, yes, but she’s a reporter. She was in public. She directed her epithet at another person. And, of course, she was caught.
Personalities, whether they are reporters, actors or politicians, must start assuming that anything they say or do in public could be recorded at any time and behave accordingly.
Professionals in a professional environment should act professionally. Professional behavior does not include hurling obscenities at people who annoy you. Even one instance is perfectly reasonable grounds for firing someone.
“as you know, techies never say “fuck” is just an everybody does it rationalization. I work in tech, and no, everybody doesn’t do it. Yes, yelling obscenities in anger will get you fired. That isn’t professional, it’s obnoxious and shouldn’t be tolerated in a professional environment. Act like a grownup and control your emotions at work. Watch your language. Learn to express yourself constructively when you are unhappy or frustrated.
Mostly true. However, there is also a Golden Rule issue here, as well as hypocrisy. I would never sanction a colleague or employee who said “Fuck!” in my presence in a pressure situation, and the comment about techies is a) true and b) indicates my conviction that someone who screwed up was trying to deflect from their own culpability by shifting attention on me or making a little power play. I do not believe for a second that anyone in that meeting who heard me say FUCK!—in my own office, in the midst of a crisis the techies caused and looked like they couldn’t fix in time—was offended at all. Their complaint was just a petty swipe at me.
Frankly, my reaction to “Act like a grownup and control your emotions at work” is “Bite me.” Most of the time that’s easy to do; sometimes it is not, like when an utter catastrophe seems unavoidable. If a T-Rex breaks through the wall of a place where I am speaking, I may just shout, “FUUCK!” Don’t tell me that’s “unprofessional”—it’s human, and I expect some empathy from other human beings. In the case at issue, I had created the most popular and profitable seminars the bar has had. I had done so at a discount. I had accommodated every request from the CLE director, some requiring a lot of time, and assumed we had a partnership. I also had covered several times for the organization’s sloppiness, which was in stark contrast to other clients, especially in tech support quality. This time, they really screwed me, missing a planned tech run-through that would have flagged the problem that we ended up encountering right before a hundred paid attendees were expecting a program from me. When I asked where the head tech expert was who I had dealt with in the days before the program, I was told that he was unavailable. I said, “Fuck!” I said that because I cared about the quality of the program, and apparently they did not. I would say “Fuck!” again in that situation, as I said “Fuck!” when I found out in one theatrical production I was directing that the lighting designer had gone mad and CHOPPED UP THE SECOND ACT SET WITH AN AXE.” Sometimes professionals say “Fuck!” because they are professionals, and they want to do things right and people expect them to, and using “FUCK!” as a way to release some steam in the process of trying to fix a problem is both prudent and justifiable.
My father, whom I never once heard say “Fuck!” in his life, responded to a question from me about whether he ever used such expletives. “Of course!” he said. “In combat. When I learned that a member of my company had been killed because of ab order I had given. When we went over a hill and ran into the enemy. Everyone said “Fuck!” then.” I guarantee that JFK said “Fuck!” when he saw the photos of the Russian missiles in Cuba. It wasn’t “unprofessional.” He didn’t say “Fuck” in his radio address, just as I didn’t say “Fuck!” in my seminar…but the fact that I cared enough to say “Fuck!” before the seminar is one reason there WAS a seminar.
“I do not believe for a second that anyone in that meeting who heard me say FUCK!—in my own office, in the midst of a crisis the techies caused and looked like they couldn’t fix in time—was offended at all. Their complaint was just a petty swipe at me.”
Probably true. Blame shifting, excuse making, and outright lying are ubiquitous in tech. I fail to understand why, since I have never once witnessed someone get into trouble for honestly admitting to making a mistake. In my experience, just fessing up and admitting you broke something tends to actually reduce the penalties or eradicate them altogether, possibly because it is a novel experience for most tech managers. That being said, bad behavior by one party is not actually a valid excuse for a different bad behavior on someone else’s part. Possibly a they had it coming rationalization?
“Frankly, my reaction to “Act like a grownup and control your emotions at work” is “Bite me.” Most of the time that’s easy to do; sometimes it is not, like when an utter catastrophe seems unavoidable.”
Professionalism is only required when it is easy to accomplish? These are indeed not normal times.
“If a T-Rex breaks through the wall of a place where I am speaking, I may just shout, “FUUCK!””
If a T-Rex actually breaks through the wall of a place, I would excuse obscenities on the grounds a) the place has already been destroyed, b) becoming a T-Rex’s dinner is not generally listed amongst job requirements, and c) death and dismemberment are indeed grounds for obscenities.
“In the case at issue, I had created the most popular and profitable seminars the bar has had.”
King’s Pass?
“Don’t tell me that’s “unprofessional”—it’s human, and I expect some empathy from other human beings.”
I have empathy. Computers are evil. I empathize greatly with the urge to yell bad words at them and the people associated with them. The urge is perfectly understandable. Acting on the urge is the problem. Understandable is not the same as excusable. I feel like there should be an “I’m only human” rationalization in the list somewhere, but I don’t see one.
“I said, “Fuck!” I said that because I cared about the quality of the program, and apparently they did not.”
The Romantic’s Excuse
“My father, whom I never once heard say “Fuck!” in his life, responded to a question from me about whether he ever used such expletives.”
Appeal to authority
Look, I get where you are coming from. I have a bad temper myself and sometimes it takes a lot of effort to control it. Sometimes I fail at controlling it. I think you are rationalizing your failure to control your temper.
“If a T-Rex actually breaks through the wall of a place, I would excuse obscenities on the grounds a) the place has already been destroyed, b) becoming a T-Rex’s dinner is not generally listed amongst job requirements, and c) death and dismemberment are indeed grounds for obscenities.”
A failure to present a contracted-for seminar to lawyers depending on getting their CLE credits, even when it is not in fact my fault, would be, in my estimation, WORSE than a T-Rex breaking through the wall. Meekly accepting a wrecked assignment is also not among my job requirements—which I alone define.
“In the case at issue, I had created the most popular and profitable seminars the bar has had.”
King’s Pass?”
Nope. Justly accumulated and earned trust, which should have led to at very least an opportunity to explain, to apologize, and to guarantee no similar incident. Moreover, there was no prior notice of the extent of the civility rules. Let me say again: I was in my own office, speaking an expletive into the air.
“I have empathy. Computers are evil. I empathize greatly with the urge to yell bad words at them and the people associated with them. The urge is perfectly understandable. Acting on the urge is the problem. Understandable is not the same as excusable. I feel like there should be an “I’m only human” rationalization in the list somewhere, but I don’t see one.”
I didn’t have an “urge.” That suggests the opportunity to make a choice. If I hit my thumb with a hammer, I don’t think, “Hmmm..I feel like shouting, “FUCK!” Should I?” Same here. It is a reflex, not an urge.”
“I said, “Fuck!” I said that because I cared about the quality of the program, and apparently they did not.”
The Romantic’s Excuse
That would be a fair diagnosis, if I conceded that shouting “Fuck!” under those circumstances was in fact unethical conduct. Nobody was hurt, and nobody was offended. It was not in the course of professional activity—setting up tech is not my job. The word was not directed at any individual, and, in fact, as I said, it helped get my anger out of my system so I could focus on the task at hand. I also used my passion and perfectionism as the explanation for “Fuck,” not an excuse. I don’t need an excuse. It was justifiable and reasonable conduct.
“My father, whom I never once heard say “Fuck!” in his life, responded to a question from me about whether he ever used such expletives.” Appeal to authority
Again, wrong. The correct word is “analogy.”
Look, I get where you are coming from. I have a bad temper myself and sometimes it takes a lot of effort to control it. Sometimes I fail at controlling it. I think you are rationalizing your failure to control your temper.
I didn’t lose my temper. I didn’t shout at the techies or tell them they were lazy, undependable assholes, which, in fact, they were. Later, when my meticulously created power point presentation came up as alien figures because they had not checked it beforehand as they were instructed to,and used outdated PPT software, I was furious, but told the attendees that it was my error, and took full responsibility, while thinking, “FUCK!” In the instance under discussion, I had every right to quickly and emphatically express my frustration and displeasure, before getting on with the task of solving the problem.
After it was all over, I called my partner, who performed the songs I had written for the program, as he has for 20 years. I apologized for losing the client. He said, “Well, their support was a train wreck, and they made us look bad. Don’t apologize. Fuck ’em.”
I did not fire him.
Using the word “fuck” in and of itself is not unethical. Using the word “fuck” in a professional environment is what is unethical.
What is professionalism?
“The skill, good judgment, and polite behavior that is expected from a person who is trained to do a job well” Merrium-Webster, n.d.
“‘Professionalism’ is commonly understood as an individual’s adherence to a set of standards, code of conduct or collection of qualities that characterize accepted practice within a particular area of activity” Universities UK et al. 2004
In the list of impolite words people teach their children not to say, “fuck” is usually fairly high up in the list. Basic societal standards agree that fuck is not used in polite conversation. An individual’s personal opinion on whether this is reasonable or not is irrelevant to societal standards. Professionalism requires adhering to societal standards so people can get along with one another in a common workplace.
Now, you may have been in your home office, but obviously there were other people around or on the phone who could hear you. Where the conduct actually takes place is not relevant. If I call a coworker on the phone from my home office and sexually harass them, it is workplace harassment. If I say fuck where my coworkers can hear me, it is a violation of professional standards regardless of where I am.
To have professionalism is to be able to adhere to basic rules of conduct without having them spelled out to you. The purpose is to be able to interact with a wide variety of people without causing undo offense or problems. Whether you can find some people who are not offended by yelling fuck in a room or not, there is another group of people who will be legitimately offended by such an exclamation.
As for the reflex argument, I do not agree. Habituating yourself to saying impolite words to the extent you can no longer control them is a choice.
My professional work begins when I am engaged in legal or ethical activities. Prep work struggling with Zoom is not included: it would not be regarded as “law related activity,” for example, by the Rules of professional conduct. As I think I have said already, there was no reason to think that the two other people I was working with would be offended or upset in any way by an exclamation, and, in fact, I do not believe they were, or that it is reasonable to assume they were. Nor am I in the habit of exclaiming “Fuck” when frustrated, though as my wife will testify, I do it alone in my office frequently.
You’re arguing for an absurdly idealized standard that has nothing to do with ethics, or even civility, and I have no idea why. This was a borderline episode of a spontaneous, non-public utterance in a context in which it caused no harm whatsoever.
I grew up in the military. Might have warped my view of things. I dunno.
I think the ideal you propose is admirable, and meets the standard of exemplary ethics.
I think I have to side with Jack.
The issue is not simply an angry outburst. Had he yelled JEEPERS! or CONSARNIT!, he likely would not have been fired. It was the vulgarity that was likely more objectionable. In that respect, we should all be old enough that naughty words are not inherently offensive.
Now, had he attacked the tech people with “You Fucking Moron!”, that would have been a basis for firing him. However, the same would be the case if he called them “incompetent dolts.” I try very hard to make sure my employees are competent, but I don’t let clients abuse them. The client can come to me if they have a problem with my staff. So, in that case, the vulgarity is really irrelevant, because the offensive conduct is the attack itself.
Having said that, Marly Rivera’s situation is different still. She was “attacking” a competitor with a vulgarity. She is a public face of the company and did this in the course of performing her duties. It is certainly an embarrassing thing for the company. Would she have been fired without the vulgarity? Would she have been fired for calling her a “squatter,” a “poacher,” or an “opportunistic cur”? Probably not. Should one slip up like this warrant firing? Not sure.
My verdict: Jack had a better case to stand on than Marly.
-Jut
Is this like yelling “fuck” in a crowded ethics seminar? Hee hee! Sorry. Bad boy.
Sometimes emotions get the best of us.
This reminds me of an occasion of a few months back where I represented a landlord evicting a ne’er-do-well tenant who was almost a year behind on rent. The tenant pulled every delay tactic including appealing the case to county court. On the day of trial, the judge “suggested” we discuss the case before trial, which we did. The tenant was an obnoxious guy who thought he was more sophisticated than he was. We met in private to see if we could settle the case. The guy kept dragging his feet, questioning everything and criticizing my client and me by calling into question our collective and individual ethics and intelligence. After about 30 minutes of this, I told the coordinator we didn’t settle and needed time before the judge.
The judge called the case, I made my opening, and the judge asked the tenant for his opening, whereupon he stated that he had $10k in cash to pay the landlord but needed time to pay the balance which was about $7k. Call me skeptical because it was the first I heard of that, but the judge told us to go back out in the hall to settle the case. I told the tenant to show me the $10k before we did anything else. He had his “advisor” open a satchel, and to my surprise they did, in fact, have $10k in cash. Who the hell walks around Downtown Houston with $10k in cash? We talked for another 30 to 40 minutes to get the balance resolved, which included further insults and derogatory remarks about your humble correspondent and my client’s representatives.
After writing a fairly coherent settlement plan, the tenant wanted to review it. Fine. It took another fifteen minutes for him to review it and parse every word (“what’s this means?” and “what’s that mean?”). He signed the agreement but “under duress”. I had had enough of his nonsense and I said, “you know, if you had told upfront you had $10k in cash, we could have saved each other a whole lot of time and we could settled this fucking case two hours ago.”
You would have thought I defiled the very Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, and the original manuscripts for the Chronicles of Narnia. He took great offense at my lack of civility and professionalism and that he had never, ever been treated with such disrespect in his entire life. Well, I walked away and told the bailiff the case was settled. We presented the agreement to the court. I left with $10k in cash and returned to the office, only then to find out that my clients had complained to their supervisor that I had dropped the proverbial “F” bomb in their presence and was disrespectful to the tenant.
The client had called just as I walked into the office. I explained what had happened, that this tenant was abusive to me and the clients, was a monumental jerk and wasted 2 hours of everyone’s time. I did admit to cursing, adding that I thought I was unprofessional to do so, but the client then told me that I had exercised restraint and we moved on to other cases.
The word “fuck” is not offensive on the streets of NYC or in any athletic venus I have been to. So I would assume that the true reason for her firing is found in “Gaete, a freelance reporter, was on assignment for Tokyo Broadcasting. She is also the wife of MLB vice president of communications, John Blundell. ESPN has large and lucrative contracts with Major League Baseball.” ESPN is protecting its contract. As always, follow the money!!
Re. The ethics quiz: Yes, she should have been fired, although my tolerance for such outbursts by an employee toward another person in the work environment is likely lower than most.
In regard to Jack’s firing for a single utterance directed at no one, I find that situation materially different and overly harsh.
Although I find the current ubiquity of the word “fuck” (and all its permutations) in common discourse mildly annoying, I have usually counted it as a sign of inarticulateness (primarily among younger people) rather than intentional offense. Indeed, long overuse of the word has robbed it of much of its impact. Overhearing the word doesn’t move my “offense” meter off the peg even a little bit. Forty years as a cop will largely inoculate a person against taking offense at coarse language.
My father was not given to vocal outbursts at all except when greatly agitated, and even then, it was almost always a single restrained Southernism like, “Dadgummit!”
I find myself saying “Dadgummit!” a lot these days.
This is where the disparate cultures of the US really cause problems. Analysis of such situations is nearly impossible.
I’m from a more cowboy-ish blue collar culture, and while I am used to certain vulgarities, “cunt” is one of those words that is signature significance. That word holds such a place on the cognitive dissonance scale that Hitler is improved in his standing for not using it. In an academic discussion, the word is just a very crude and useless word, but actually using that word in a non-personal fashion is enough to offend many sensibilities in even blue collar jobs where “fuck” is standard terminology. Using it in the hearing of a lady is truly abhorrent, and should be worthy of at least significant apologies. Directing that word TO a lady, on the other hand, is worthy of firing.
On the other hand, my MIL is from a much different white collar culture, than I had ever experienced, where pearl clutching at someone thinking the word “fuck” is common. In her opinion, even saying the word in an academic discussion such as this one, is so offensive that there is no excuse. Using any idiom with fuck in it is automatically the end of the world, so calling something a “cluster” is horrifying enough to get the declaration that you are to go to confession or you will be damned to hell (personal experience on that one). She would certainly not approve of the acronym SNAFU, were she to know what it means. In my analysis of her behavior, if she had heard you say that about your computer before a seminar, she would certainly have been one to complain. She would absolutely argue that addressing someone with that epithet would have been worthy of firing, at least.
So I think that there are issues with how the culture has changed over time, and in different places. Depending on the cultures involved, what Rivera said is more than worthy of firing. I’d probably be a little more lenient and give her the “you’re on thin ice, don’t make another mistake” talk. That being said, I am always suspicious of getting in trouble when someone in the discussion is rich and powerful. I tend to assume an abuse of power.
In this case, I think that firing her was the ethical response, but I believe that there is significant reason to suspect unethical motivations.
“She would certainly not approve of the acronym SNAFU, were she to know what it means.”
When explaining its meaning to me ~ half a century ago, my Dear late Mother (whom I never EVER heard curse): Situation Normal All Fouled Up.
How did she define “FUBAR”?
(Unsuccessfully stifling an open guffaw) we never got around to that one…but Fouled, et al, would’ve worked.
FTR, when I use asterisks to…um…soften words up, it’s because I still sense her looking over my shoulder, and want to stave off a disapproving Oh, Paulie!
I don’t think there’s enough here to make a proper decision. I’d have to see the video, to get a better understanding. There are several factors that are unclear. Was the interview with Judge and Gaete already in progress, or did this happen before the scheduled start of the interview? Was Judge nearby, where hearing Rivera’s outburst could make it less likely he’d want to do interviews with ESPN in the future? Was there a physical altercation attempted by Rivera? Was there a physical altercation by Gaete? Did Rivera attempt to bring the issue to higher ups before her outburst, or did she give her outburst immediately after the first attempt to inform Gaete of the situation? Is Rivera telling the truth that she did attempt to apologize and that she had never been reprimanded before today?