Charissa Thompson, a Fox Sports and Amazon Prime Video Thursday Night Football studio host, addressed a statement she recently made about occasionally making up reports when working as an NFL sideline reporter earlier in her career.
Speaking on Barstool Sports’ Pardon My Take podcast, which was released last Wednesday, Thompson admitted to fabricating on-air reports. A sports television sideline reporter’s job is to deliver information he or she has received from players and coaches throughout the game to provide additional color for the game broadcasts.
“I haven’t been fired for saying it, but I’ll say it again, I would make up the report sometimes because, A, the coach wouldn’t come out at half-time or it was too late and I was like, I didn’t want to screw up the report, so I was like, ‘I’m just gonna make this up,’” Thompson told Pardon My Take.
She added, “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. Like, they’re not gonna correct me on that. I’m like, it’s fine, I’ll just make up the report.”
Thompson addressed her comments on Friday via an Instagram post:
View this post on Instagram
Thompson is currently a studio host for Fox Sports’ NFL Kickoff program, which airs Sunday mornings on Fox, as well as for Amazon Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football coverage. However, she worked as an NFL sideline reporter for Fox Sports earlier in her career — during the late 2000s.
Her remarks were widely criticized by fellow TV sports journalists. Here are reactions from some of the top sideline reporters in the TV sports business.
Shocked. Disappointed. Disgusted. What we heard today called all sideline reporters into question. My job is an honor, a privilege and a craft at which I have worked so hard…
(1/2)— Lisa Salters (@saltersl) November 17, 2023
Trust and credibility. They mean everything to a journalist. To violate either one – in any way – not only makes a mockery of the profession, but is a disservice to players, coaches and, most importantly, to fans.
(2/2)— Lisa Salters (@saltersl) November 17, 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
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
Honestly, this makes me sad. Charissa is a nice person, but this is professional fraud. If a coach won’t talk to you at halftime, you say that. And if there is no report, then you just don’t file a report at half time. It’s pretty simple. journalistic integrity is paramount. https://t.co/JD04HABQer
— Michele Tafoya (@Michele_Tafoya) November 16, 2023