The backlash she’s receiving is coming from a statement she made about how she used to make up stories when she didn’t have anything to report, and people are up in arms about the ethics of her comment.
“I’ve said this before,” Thompson began. “I haven’t been fired to saying it, but I’ll say it again. 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. So I was like, ‘I’m just gonna make this up.’
“Because first of all, no coach is gonna get mad if I say, ‘Hey, we need to stop hurting ourselves, we need to be better on third down, we need to stop turning the ball over and do a better job of getting off the field.’ They’re not gonna correct me on that. So I’m like, it’s fine, I’ll just make up the report,” Thompson concluded.
When she mentioned she had said this before, Thompson was referencing a conversation she had with sideline reporter Erin Andrews in 2022 on their podcast, “Calm Down with Erin and Charissa.”
“I was like ‘oh coach what adjustments are you gonna make at halftime?’ He goes, ‘that’s a great perfume you’re wearing.’ I was like ‘oh f—, this isn’t gonna work.’ I’m not kidding, I made up a report,” Thompson had said on the podcast.
“I’ve done that too,” Andrews agreed. “For a coach that I didn’t wanna throw under the bus because he was telling me all the wrong stuff!”
As Thompson continues to receive criticism on social media, business reporter Daniel Kaplan reached out to Amazon — who hosts “Thursday Night Football” — to see if Thompson will be addressing her recent comments on tonight’s broadcast.
“She was telling a story from 15 years ago,” Amazon said, according to Kaplan.
So, unless Thompson feels the need to address it herself, don’t expect any sort of mandated official statement.
Sideline reporters react to Charissa Thompson’s comments
Since Thompson’s comments were brought to the attention of social media, several sideline reporters have come forward to object to what she is suggesting.
This is absolutely not ok, not the norm and upsetting on so many levels. I take my job very seriously, I hold myself accountable for all I say, I build trust with coaches and never make something up. I know my fellow reporters do the same. https://t.co/sl0T7w32u9
— Tracy Wolfson (@tracywolfson) November 16, 2023
THE privilege of a sideline role is being the 1 person in the entire world who has the opportunity to ask coaches what’s happening in that moment. I can’t express the amount of time it takes to build that trust. Devastated w/the texts I’m getting asking if this is ok. No. Never.
— Laura Okmin (@LauraOkmin) November 16, 2023
Young reporters: This is not normal or ethical. Coaches and players trust us with sensitive information, and if they know that you’re dishonest and don’t take your role seriously, you’ve lost all trust and credibility. https://t.co/yMnM1T995P
— Molly McGrath (@MollyAMcGrath) November 16, 2023
I have never and would never make up quotes from a coach for camera time. If your goal is to get on tv, don’t be a sideline reporter.
— Kris Budden (@KrisBudden) November 16, 2023
Coaches/teams build trust with our broadcast crews, and that is so easily torn down by these kind of stunts.
Article Appeared @https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/thursday-night-football-charissa-thompson-make-nfl-sideline-reports/42e82e0412c4d081120552c4