Runner who slapped TV reporter’s behind speaks out
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The jogger who brazenly slapped a Georgia reporter’s behind on live TV spoke out for the first time in an interview Tuesday, claiming he didn’t realize where he’d touched the journalist.
Tommy Callaway, 43, a married father of two who is youth group leader at his church, as well as a Boy Scout leader, tried to explain why he smacked WSAV-TV’s Alex Bozarjian as she reported from the Savannah Bridge Run 10K Saturday.
“I got caught up in the moment,” he told Inside Edition. “I was getting ready to bring my hands up and wave to the camera to the audience, there was a misjudge in character and decision-making.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“I touched her back; I did not know exactly where I touched her.”
A clip of the on-air assault shared by the reporter on Twitter soon went viral — and Callaway was identified and banned from future races.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The video showed a man in a hat and sunglasses appearing to slap Bozarjian as he ran past. She could be seen recoiling in shock and staring off at the runner, before composing herself and continuing her broadcast.