Charissa Thompson has become a regular part of football coverage across multiple networks, hosting FOX NFL Kickoff and contributing interviews and features to its pregame shows. Outside of the company, she also works on studio coverage for Thursday Night Football on Amazon’s Prime Video, a role she has held since the property launched during the 2022 season. Throughout her time in the media business, Thompson has become a prominent host and reporter across the sports and entertainment spaces, but her assimilation into the industry had its challenges.
During a recent appearance on the Not Gonna Lie podcast with Kylie Kelce, Thompson was asked about people who had a positive influence on her career. Thompson answered by stating that it was the women who were rude towards her that ended up leaving the biggest mark. Thinking back on her career, she remembers times in which there would be jealousy and competition and how she never wanted to be like the people who were rude. In fact, it inspired her to be different and serve as a catalyst for assisting the next generation of media professionals.
“The young woman that comes up to me or the young woman that reaches out to me on Instagram that says, ‘Hey, I want to do what you do one day. Can you help me?,’ my answer’s always, ‘Yes, of course I can help you,’ because there is going to be a time where you have to pass the baton, and I hope that I get to do this job for a long time,” Thompson said. “But my goal is when that next person gets this opportunity, they can look back and have an answer to your question, which is, ‘She helped me,’ not tried to get in the way or be jealous of an opportunity.”
Thompson emphasized the importance of growing up and having experience playing sports, something she believes is the best thing parents can give their children. Becoming involved in these spaces fosters collaboration, teamwork and sportsmanship while also conveying important life lessons that can be applied elsewhere.
“You want your kids to fail so that they can enjoy the success,” Thompson said. “You want your kid to be a good teammate and not a brat, and by the way, you’re not going to get a participation ribbon. You’re either first, second or third.”
Over her years with FOX Sports, Thompson developed a friendship with FOX NFL sideline reporter Erin Andrews and would frequently converse on the phone. Thompson and Andrews started the Calm Down podcast with iHeartMedia in 2021 where they discuss topics surrounding sports, pop culture, entertainment and lifestyle. The venture allowed the colleagues to bring their conversations to a public forum and give their opinions outside of football programming.
“I think for Erin, especially in her role, it’s so limited to a 30-second hit at the start of the game, injury reports, a couple sit-down interviews, but she doesn’t really get that longform platform that I do on an hour pregame show, an hour postgame show, to really show her personality,” Thompson explained. “I mean, you see it in her reports and stuff like that, but I think ,at least the response that I get a lot is like, ‘Oh my gosh. I didn’t know that Erin was so funny. I didn’t know that Erin was this,’ all these things because you get to see her in a different space.”
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