FOX Sports and Amazon Prime Video host Charissa Thompson went viral on Thursday revealing that there were times in her career as an NFL sideline reporter that she would make up a report and present it on the air.
Thompson appeared on Barstool’s Pardon My Take this week (the interview was recorded last week when the Chicago Bears hosted Thursday Night Football and Thompson stopped by Barstool’s new $20 million Chicago office) when she spoke candidly about having to come up with something to say if a coach either refused to speak to her at halftime or took too long to speak when returning to the field for the second half.
“I would make up the report sometimes, because A, the coach wouldn’t come out at halftime, or it was too late and I didn’t want to screw up the report,” she said. “So I was like, ‘I’m just gonna make this up.'”
For context, host Dan “Big Cat” Katz talked about how much respect he has for sideline reporters and analysts because of the immense time crunch those members of the broadcast team have and the incredible pressure they’re under to get their reports perfect on the air.
Thompson said one reason why she’s no longer a sideline reporter is because the preparation for the job doesn’t outweigh how little presence the reporter has on the broadcast.
“The ROI on the amount of work that you put in versus what you actually see, I give them so much respect,” she said. “And there’s a reason why I don’t do that anymore either.”
Co-host PFT Commenter chimed in saying there are a lot of nuances to being a sideline reporter, even when it comes down to how they hold the microphone. He added that when it comes to the moment for sideline reporters to shine, details are important and if you screw up, it’s all social media will talk about.
It’s then that Thompson makes her viral comments.
While Big Cat and PFT Commenter seemed to play into what Thompson was saying and didn’t press her further about making up reports, many across social media expressed disappointment, anger, and frustration with Charissa Thompson for committing a cardinal sin in journalism and making that admission publicly.
Still, despite the blowback, some have felt like this story is being blown out of proportion.
Former NFL Network host Rachel Bonnetta felt like people were rushing to pile on Thompson when there was a missed opportunity to have a conversation about coaches not talking to sideline reporters at halftime, women in sports in general and following up on why Charissa Thompson needed to make up reports.
