Female sports reporter accuses football fans of ‘violating’ her on camera

An American sports reporter has accused some members of the public of "violating" her while she was trying to report on a college football game at the weekend.

Lyndsey Gough was trying to present a piece to camera at a game between the Clemson Tigers and Georgia Bulldogs on Sunday when she was made to feel "uncomfortable" by rowdy fans at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Gough, sports director of Georgia station WTOC 11, shared some of the footage of what happened on social media.

The 57-second clip begins with one man who startles her from behind, causing her to jump before she turns to say: "Please don't touch me."

Next in the montage is a man who comes up alongside her, but says nothing and stares into the camera before Gough says: "Excuse you," and another fan moves the man away.

The reporter is then mithered by a large crowd which makes its way past the location she is filming at, with several men stopping to speak either to her or to the camera while she is trying to record.

One man even walks between her and the camera, completely blocking her from the shot.

Gough tells two more men off as they come right up to the camera and proceed to scream into her face.

"Please don’t touch my equipment,” she says, before asking a colleague: “How long do I have? I’ve got to move."

Captioning the footage, which she posted on her Twitter account, Gough wrote: "Got all kinds of violated during my first live hit by fans.

"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?"

She received support from many on Twitter, especially from other journalists who have experienced similar situations.

Boston Herald reporter Meghan Ottolini said: "I’m so sorry. This happens to me often and people don’t realise how uncomfortable and disruptive it is during a freaking JOB."

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Marc Ryan of ESPN Tweeted: "I am sorry this happened. I too had what could best be called an 'encounter' with a Clemson fan last night… more like I was confronted. After seeing your disturbing video, it had me wondering which side behaves worse in sports? The winning or losing side? Grateful you’re ok."

And NBC reporter Vanessa Richardson added: "I know I speak for a lot of women in TV when I say I know exactly how this feels. There is no excuse. Good for you for standing up for yourself, but I’m sorry you were even in that situation."

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