Inside Edition spoke to Tommy Callaway in his first interview since video of him allegedly slapping a reporter on the behind has been viewed more than 10 million times.
The runner accused of assaulting a reporter on live TV is speaking out. Inside Edition spoke to Tommy Callaway in his first interview since video of him allegedly slapping the reporter on the behind has been viewed more than 10 million times.
"I was 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. I touched her back; I did not know exactly where I touched her."
But the reporter, Alex Bozarjian, who was covering a run in Savannah, Georgia, hasn't decided if she accepts his apology.
"He took my power and I’m trying to take that back,” she said on "CBS This Morning" Tuesday. “Whether I’m open to that or not, I want to take my time with that. I think what it really comes down to is, he helped himself to a part of my body."
Callaway, 43, a married father of two as well as a youth minister and boy scout leader, was read the reporter's outraged post about the incident.
"To the man who smacked my butt on live TV, you violated, objectified and embarrassed me. No woman should ever have to put with his at work or anywhere. Do better,” Bozarjian wrote on social media.
“I totally agree 100 % with her statement and the two most important words were her last two words, ‘do better.’ And that’s my intention,” he said. "I did not see her facial reaction as I just kept on running. If I did see her facial reaction, I would have felt embarrassed and ashamed and stopped and turned around to apologize to her."
His attorney said his client acted "out of character."
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