By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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This week one of the most talked about stiff-arms in sports was delivered by a reporter in the stands rather than an athlete on the field.
Samantha Rivera, a former WTVO-17 sports journalist in Rockford, went viral on social media for her efforts to keep an unruly fan from disturbing her live shot. The CBS Miami sports reporter delivered a straight arm while delivering a post-game wrapup Monday night from the Stanley Cup Finals in Las Vegas.
“Listen, I don’t give a damn what team you’re rooting for – get the hell out of my face when I’m working and respect that I’m here to do my job,” Rivera wrote on Twitter.
Listen, I don’t give a damn what team you’re rooting for – get the hell out of my face when I’m working and respect that I’m here to do my job.
Excited to get back home to some classy #Panthers fans for game 3!! pic.twitter.com/iWDQl0Rtvv
— Samantha Rivera (@JSamanthaRivera) June 6, 2023
This week we got the chance to catch up with Nicole Briscoe, a Roscoe native who anchors ESPN’s flagship program SportsCenter. Briscoe got her start with WREX-13 in Rockford, and we asked her thoughts on how another Rockford TV news alum handled the situation.
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“There was no question in my mind that she was in complete and total control of the situation,” Briscoe said during a Zoom interview from her home in Connecticut. “To be able to apply the stiff-arm and keep talking and have a clear and conscious thought — the whole thing is great.”
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The video of Rivera was shared widely across the internet, including on SportsCenter’s social media accounts. It also spurred an interview with Sports Illustrated.
“It’s overwhelming. I don’t think I ever saw myself going viral for something like this, but it’s nice to see all the positive comments,” Rivera told SI.
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Briscoe, who will be in Rockford on June 15 to emcee a new fundraiser called Diamonds: TOPGUN, said reporters learn to deal with situations like this. But she was impressed with the grace with which Rivera handled it.
“As a woman in the sports world, there are times where you’re put into situations like she was, where maybe there’s too many beverages consumed around you and there’s a lot of people around you who feel like they can take advantage of the situation,” she said.
“She’s amazing. I have a ton of respect for what she was able to do.”
Rivera, a Chicago native, reported in Rockford for about two years starting in 2018.
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas