US2 min(s) read
Published 11:54 07 Sep 2021 GMT
A female sports reporter has taken to social media to share footage of the moment she was 'violated' by football fans.
Lyndsey Gough, a Sports Director for the Georgia-based CBS-affiliated television station WTOC11, was on-hand during the fallout from the NCAA Clemson Tigers v. Georgia Bulldogs game on Saturday.
However, with her camera rolling, Gough was approached by several fans who could be seen crowding the reporter.
Taking to Twitter following the incident, Gough wrote to her 7,700+ followers: "Got all kinds of violated during my first live hit by fans."
She added: "I am ok folks. I was startled and frazzled but we recovered."
The reporter then shared a video of the moment she was approached by fans, along with the caption: "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."
In the footage, a first man can be seen approaching Gough and saying "Hello" to the camera. The reporter responds by telling him: "Please don't touch me."
A visibly uncomfortable Gough can then be seen attempting to continue with her broadcast, but she is swamped by celebrating fans.
"Please don't touch my equipment. Please don't," she tells them.
Gough can then be heard asking somebody off-camera: "How long do I have?"
"How long do I have? I've gotta move... Okay, I can hear you, but I'm moving," she adds.
After posting the footage to Twitter on Sunday, it has since amassed over 960,000 views. Many of Twitter users who flooded Gough with praise for how she handled the situation.
"I nearly had a panic attack watching this. 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," one person responded.
Podcast host Kimberley Johnson added: "Terrible behavior from men thinking they have the right to touch strange women and invade their space. There is no justification, so I will not blame the reporter."
Fellow reporter Zoie Henry tweeted: "I don’t understand why people think because they see a camera set up they can act irrationally. This is our job, no one comes to your job invading your space or acting crazy thinking it’s funny."
And fellow sports reporter Brett Alper replied: "I couldn’t finish watching this because it made me uncomfortable. I’m so sorry Lyndsey. Do better people, my god."
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