Amazon Prime Video and FOX NFL studio host Charissa Thompson made headlines towards the end of 2023 for comments she made about being a sideline reporter, but FOX Sports NFL insider and Good Morning Football co-host Peter Schrager thinks that’s overshadowed her body of work as a studio host.
Schrager appeared with CBS Sports Radio host Andrew Perloff on the SI Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina to look back on the year that was in sports media, and Peter went to bat for Thompson the FOX NFL Kickoff host when talking about some of the standout sports media personalities of 2023.
“Charissa Thompson deserves a lot of kudos for the job that she does hosting two of the most prominent studio shows in the NFL,” Schrager said. “Sideline reporter drama aside. Charissa corrals that nutball crew on Thursday nights, which is full of personality with (Richard) Sherman and (Andrew) Whitworth and our guy Fitz (Matt Fitzpatrick) and Tony (Gonzalez) – who I worked with – who is all over the map and great and amazing in a lot of ways.”
“But Charissa does that, and then three days later is on with my dumb ass and (Julian) Edelman and (Charles) Woodson and (Michael) Vick, and Terry Bradshaw wandering into the set and Strahan coming on over,” he continued. “And she corrals us. I think Charissa’s one of the best hosts and because of this sideline reporter thing, she got just totally discredited.”
Schrager added that it’s quite something to see Charissa Thompson work so hard to deliver on two of the league’s top pregame shows.
“There’s only four or five big pregame shows, she hosts two of them!” he said. “And she’s great and is well-liked.”
Traina chimed in saying he was 99% sure Peter campaigned for Thompson the year before on their sports media retrospective roundtable, and that it was clear he thought highly of Charissa’s work.
Perloff agreed with Schrager’s sentiments and said of the sideline reporting controversy that it kind of took on legs of its own and became bigger than it needed to be.
“I think she’s the coolest. I’m a huge fan,” Perloff said. “I hated that story about sideline reporting, and I knew that must have been really tough on her.”
“It was sort of misrepresented by everyone, too,” he added. “I think it was overblown in a weird way, but anyway.”
Schrager thought it was a good thing that many in sports media turned around and demonized Thompson for admitting there were times she fabricated halftime conversations with NFL head coaches and presented it on the air.
“You find out when people reveal themselves,” he said. “So now Charissa knows what people think of her and who thinks what and you take your list.”
Traina said he wasn’t a fan of the mob that used the story as an opportunity to dunk on Thompson to get attention on social media.
“I think it happened with Romo where like everyone just decided Romo’s not good anymore,” Traina said. “So then it became a thing. They’re doing it now with Al Michaels like now it’s like get on there and say Al Michaels sucks.”
“I think so many people don’t even believe what they say, and they just want to chime in and sort of just be part of the group,” he added.
