An ESPN reporter says she was on the wrong end of some inappropriate fan behavior while covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at training camp over the weekend, and she shared her unfortunate experience on social media.
ESPN’s Jenna Laine said she was kneeling on the sideline at Bucs camp on Sunday evening when a fan came up behind her, touched her head and called her “sexy.” Laine took aim at those who said she should have taken it as a compliment.
I rarely speak on this stuff but today, I’m making an exception…
It is NEVER OK to come up behind a female reporter (or any woman), brush her on the head and say, “Hey sexy.” A fan (didn’t see his face) did this while I was kneeling on the sideline about 20 minutes ago…
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) August 11, 2019
To the folks suggesting I take being called “sexy” by a fan a compliment…
No. It’s not. This isn’t my playground. It’s my work environment. My name works just fine. I’ll gladly answer to it and say hello back!
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) August 12, 2019
I appreciate you all listening. Thank you. I love the fans here and camp is such a great time to connect. I just hope the rest of folks can be decent humans and not do that!
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) August 11, 2019
Hopefully someone else was able to identify the fan, because he deserves to be banned from attending NFL events. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first instance we have heard of a female NFL reporter being mistreated. That type of behavior should never be tolerated.
