Tristi Rodriguez is a Kings reporter, but she wasn’t one of the women featured in the hot mic moment at the team’s media day.
Rodriguez released a statement in a post on X, where she revealed that she was incorrectly speculated to be one of the voices heard on the embarrassing clip.
“The past few days have been tough. I got dragged into something that had nothing to do with me and I watched my name and reputation be tarnished across the internet. To be very clear—that was not my voice at Kings Media Day,” Rodriguez said in a statement.
“I want to clear my name, not for the trolls who have flooded my mentions and DMs with horrific messages, but for myself. Thank you to those who know me and know my professionalism and immediately knew that wasn’t me. Your messages, support and love have gone a long way over these extremely dark days.
“I’m looking forward to another exciting NBA season and continuing to do what I do best — my job.”
The hot mic moment went viral on social media with several people attempting to unveil the identities of the female reporters caught on the clip. where they discussed the attractiveness of Ben Simmons and Zach LaVine.
“Ben Simmons. Ben Simmons was, that’s what comes with being Ben Simmons. Cringe. Cringe!” a woman said.
“He’s lucky he’s so fine,” another female reporter said.
“He’s a good looking dude! I didn’t notice, his skin is so smooth. I was like, damn, no tattoos?” said another.
The two reporters also discussed LaVine, all caught on the viral clip.
“Hella fine!” the woman said about LaVine. “I mean, his personality annoys the s*** out of me, so that’s what makes him less fine.”
“Zach is cute, but his personality f——g annoys me,” added the other woman. “He just seems like he’s hella, like a p—-k… He’s beautiful.”
Rodriguez revealed she was not one of the women featured in the clip. The NBC Sports Bay Area reporter doesn’t only cover the Kings, she also works with the 49ers and other professional sports teams in Northern California.
