A crude on-camera confrontation between Toronto soccer fans and a reporter has cost a Sunshine List employee his job.
The televised incident between CityNews reporter Shauna Hunt and fans at Sunday’s Toronto FC game featured several bystanders mimicking a viral trend seen across North America, in which on-air reporters are harassed with the phrase, “F—- her right in the p——.”
Hydro One is firing an employee involved in Sunday’s incident, while Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment is taking steps to have the fans involved banned for “at least” a year.
A Hydro One spokesperson identified the employee as Shawn Simoes, an assistant network management engineer who made $106,510 last year. He appears on-camera laughing and taunting, alongside several other men.
The incident began while Hunt was doing taped interviews after the Toronto soccer club’s game. Two men “in a row” shouted the offensive phrase while passing by, she told the Star. “I could hear these other guys conspiring to do it,” Hunt added.
Hunt confronted the group of men while the camera kept rolling, capturing the subsequent expletive-laden exchange.
“Were you guys waiting around to see if you could ‘F her in the P’ me live on TV?” Hunt asked on-camera.
“Not you, but yes,” one man said, while Hunt stood in front of him holding a microphone.
Another man later speaks to Hunt as a security guard lingers near the group. “This is f—-ing hilarious. I don’t care what you say,” said the man, who has since been identified as Simoes, the Hydro One employee.
“Regarding the incident at the Toronto FC game between a (CityNews) reporter and fans, Hydro One is taking steps to terminate the employee involved for violating our Code of Conduct,” said Hydro One spokesperson Daffyd Roderick.
When Hunt asked Simoes on-camera how his mother would feel if she saw him talking like that, he responded, “Oh, my mom would die laughing, eventually.”
Simoes played soccer for Wilfrid Laurier University while attending the school during the early 2000s.
The university released a statement Monday condemning the “extremely offensive and discriminatory comments” at Sunday’s game.
“Laurier is deeply disappointed that Laurier alumni were associated with this incident,” it read.
The second man speaking to Hunt in the video has also been identified as a Laurier alumnus on social media. Others have said he is now an employee of Cognex Corporation, a manufacturing company with an office in Burlington. A LinkedIn profile matching the man’s description was recently deleted.
“While the individual was attending the event on his own time and was not at a Cognex activity, the views expressed are totally inconsistent with Cognex’s values, and we find such comments reprehensible,” said company spokesperson Sarah Laskowski. “We cannot comment on employee matters publicly, but we take this issue seriously and will be addressing it.”
Laskowski would not confirm the man’s name.
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment has been trying to identify all four men involved in the incident, including the two who spoke directly to Hunt on-camera and the other two passersby who initially used the vulgar phrase.
“We’re appalled that this trend of disrespectful behaviour would make its way to our city, let alone anywhere near our stadium,” MLSE said in a statement. “We are working to identify the individuals, and when we do they will be banned from all of our facilities.”
MLSE said it will also be working with local television outlets to provide extra security to female reporters doing live hits at any of its games.
The trend of shouting a vulgar phrase into a journalist’s microphone has affected reporters — typically women — in various cities across North America for over a year.
Hunt told the Star that reporters in Toronto are enduring this “almost on a daily basis.”
Morgan Dunlop, a reporter at CBC Montreal, recalled an incident last November while she was doing a live hit for CBC Toronto. “They kind of yelled it into the camera behind me,” Dunlop said, referring to the phrase often written out as ‘FHRITP.’
The trend actually stems from a hoax: a series of viral videos made by an American filmmaker showing staged interactions between phony reporters and passersby.
But in the real world, pulling this stunt could do more than cost someone his job — it could also be illegal.
In Calgary, police issued a statement to broadcasters that the activity constitutes grounds for a charge and arrest, while Kingston police tweeted: “Our media partners should not have to deal with #FHRITP. Cause Disturbance seems to apply.”
In Toronto, no reporters have yet pushed for charges to be laid, according to Const. Victor Kwong of the Toronto police.
With files from Richard Brennan, Bruce Arthur, Stephanie Werner and Roderick Perry
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