After sparking a strong reaction while expressing insensitivity and lack of interest in reporting on the Bosnia national team, ABC 7 Los Angeles reporter Abigail Velez has apologized.
Velez went viral for a ‘hype-up’ monologue in which she revealed she did not know anything about Bosnia and Herzegovina – and that she didn’t care to.
‘The next round, Team USA will play Bosnia and the thing about Bosnia is that I could not point out where it is on the map,’ Velez stated to viewers during the broadcast.
‘I don’t know the first thing about Bosnia and I don’t want to know. That’s because Team USA, we’re back and better than ever,’ she said during the segment.
‘Be prepared Bosnia, because you don’t want it like that,’ she ended her trash-talk monologue.
Velez received international scorn and condemnation on social media, which led to her apology on Saturday evening.
ABC 7 Los Angeles reporter Abigail Velez has apologized for a statement she made on air
Velez apologized for her ‘thoughtless’ comment about the Bosnia national team
Velez admitted that she had zero knowledge about the country’s next World Cup opponents
‘In a poor effort to have a little fun with World Cup competition, I took it too far and made a thoughtless comment on air that was insensitive and inappropriate,’ Velez wrote in a statement posted to her social media.
‘I apologize to the people of Bosnia and the Bosnian Football team. The World Cup is supposed to be about uniting communities around the world, and my comment didn’t reflect that spirit.’
Velez concluded the statement by ‘Wishing all the teams the very best as they continue their World Cup journey.’
Fans from around the world left comments expressing their shock under Velez’s initial post. One Bosnian fan wrote: ‘My goodness, the stereotypes write themselves.’
Even American fans were unhappy with Velez’s words, with one saying, ‘Sorry Bosnia….we got some extremely stupid and ignorant people here that get to go [on] tv and embarrass us.’
ABC 7 Los Angeles has not issued any statement on their social media accounts.
While Velez works for a local station and not ABC News’ national network, it’s worth noting that the president of ABC News – Almin Karamehmedovic – is Bosnian-American.
