An ESPN reporter was caught on camera aggressively berating an employee working in a towing company following the latter's alleged refusal to grant the demands of the former, according to The Huffington Post.
Brittany McHenry, a sports reporter from the network, was recorded virtually verbally abusing a towing company staff in connection with getting her vehicle towed in the Hunan parking lot while she was having dinner on April 6. Despite her aggressive behavior towards the staff, the person in charge still informed to the aggrieved reporter that their interaction I currently being recorded.
"I'm in the news, sweetheart," McHenry said, presumably pointing out her status to the attendant in an effort to assert her rights and have her requests granted. The reporter also threatened to take legal action against the towing company - a place she described to have made her "skin crawl" by simply being there. "I wouldn't work in a scumbag place like this," she further added.
The ESPN reporter then went on to attack the educational attainment of the employee, dropping remarks such as "So I can be a college dropout and do the same thing?" and "That's why I have a degree and you don't." She was also recorded insulting the intellectual capacity of the towing company staff by uttering demeaning comments like "Why? Because I have a brain? And you don't?" She was also heard saying, "Yep, that's all you care about is just taking people's money. With no education, no skill set, just wanted to clarify that."
In addition to mocking both mental capacity and educational attainment of the employee, McHenry also criticized the physical appearance of the staff. "Lose some weight, baby girl," she told the person in the counter. The reporter also went on to insult the teeth of the employee with comments like "Maybe if I was missing some teeth they would hire me, huh?" and "'Cause they [the employee's teeth] look so stunning. 'Cause I'm on television and you're in a [expletive] trailer, honey."
The minute-long video of McHenry's tirade shortly made the rounds online and was brought to the attention of ESPN. In response to the uproar caused by the clip, the network decided to suspend the reporter under fire. The network then posted in their Twitter account the verdict on the reporter's behavior, "Update from ESPN: Britt McHenry has been suspended for 1 week effectively immediately."
"In an intense and stressful moment, I allowed my emotions to get the best of me and said some insulting and regrettable things," the reporter posted in her official Twitter account. "As frustrated as I was, I should always choose to be respectful and take the high road. I am so sorry for my actions and will learn from this mistake," she further wrote.
