Marathon Runner Smacks Reporter On The Butt On Live TV, Gets Banned From Future Races

When it comes to getting stories from the field, reporters brace themselves for the worst. And things are particularly tricky for woman reporters, who are at the receiving end of lewd behaviour all the time.

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More recently, another US reporter fell victim to ON-AIR sexual molestation. For Georgia journalist, Alex Bozarjian, it was a shocking moment she experienced while on live TV, this weekend.

Bozarjian was covering the annual Enmarket Savannah Bridge Run on Saturday, when a man ran by and appeared to grope her. As seen in the video that's doing the rounds on social media, the man wearing a hat and sunglasses smacked her backside as he ran past.

To the man who smacked my butt on live TV this morning: You violated, objectified, and embarrassed me. No woman should EVER have to put up with this at work or anywhere!! Do better. https://t.co/PRLXkBY5hn

¡ª Alex Bozarjian (@wsavalexb) December 7, 2019

Bozarjian appeared visibly shaken by his action, before continuing her report, and later retweeted the clip along with the caption, 'To the man who smacked my butt on live TV this morning: You violated, objectified, and embarrassed me. No woman should EVER have to put up with this at work or anywhere!! Do better'.

Bozarjian looked surprised and stared off toward him before quickly regaining her composure for the live segment.

After the video went viral, the man, identified as 43-year-old Tommy Callaway, sat down for an interview with Inside Edition, during which he said he was going to wave to the camera and gave a ridiculous excuse saying that he 'got caught up in the moment'.

Might we ask, what was there to be caught up in? How is smacking a woman's behind an act of being 'caught up' in anything?

"I touched her back, I did not know exactly where I touched her," he said. "I did not see her facial reaction because I just kept on running and if I did see her facial reaction, I would have been embarrassed, I would have felt ashamed, and I would have stopped, turned around, and went back and apologized to her."

"It's not okay to help yourself to a woman's body just because you feel like it¡­ in order to make any kind of change, you have to be a little bit drastic. And you have to... chip away at this toxic culture that permeates our society." -- @WSAVAlexB pic.twitter.com/tYsvu0uFiW

¡ª CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) December 10, 2019

Callaway is a 43-year-old father of two who also serves as a church youth minister and Boy Scout leader, state reports.

¡°While we regret the situation, Mr. Callaway did not act with any criminal intentions,¡± Joseph Turner, Callaway¡¯s lawyer, said in a statement. Turner described Callaway as a ¡°loving husband and father¡± and added that he was working with those involved to correct the situation

"It's not OK to help yourself to a woman's body just because you feel like it," Bozarjian told CBS This Morning on Tuesday. "It's not playful. He hurt me, both physically and emotionally."

Bozarjian filed a sexual battery report with the Savannah Police Department, saying she wanted the department to pursue charges against Callaway.

For now Callaway has been restricted from taking part in future marathons after his inappropriate behaviour. But is that penalty enough for someone who casually smacked a woman On Air and went on to make a ridiculous excuse saying he was 'caught in the moment'?

Certainly not, Bozarjian anger is justified in every way, it all starts with a casual smack on the butt and leads onto cases of serious sexual abuse.

People like Callaway think they can get away with such lewd advances and have no qualms about the repercussions. They need to be reminded that none of this ok and the consequences of treating a woman in this manner should be made dire. Or else nothing is going to change!