Watch: Reporter speaks out against man who assaulted her during a live news segment
‘No woman should EVER have to put up with this at work or anywhere!’ said Alex Bozarjian.
Female reporter Alex Bozarjian was live on NBC’s WSAV network for sports when one of the men running in the marathon she was covering touched her inappropriately and sped off.
As part of a live segment, Bozarjian was standing next to the runners’ route for the Savannah Bridge Run when the incident took place. As the video above shows, she went from cheerful and enthusiastic to visibly flustered, though she attempted to continue reporting even after the assault.
Bozarjian responded to the man on social media, addressing him directly and saying “You violated me.”
Robert Wells, director of Savannah Sports Council, which sponsored the race, responded to Bozarjian and the video saying “Alex, what happened today is 100% unacceptable. You have my assurance we will identify him.”
The man was swiftly identified by social media users as Tommy Callaway, using his marathon bib number. He is reportedly a youth church minister from Statesboro, Georgia. He has now been banned from running in future events and the police have been notified about the incident.
Here are some of the online responses.