Charissa Thompson sparked an uproar after she said she used to fabricate coaches’ comments when she worked as an NFL sideline reporter.
The Thursday Night Football host would later claim she simply “chose the wrong words” when she made these comments. Thompson made the admission on Wednesday’s episode of the Pardon My Take podcast. Her explanation was that if she was unable to interview a coach in time during a game, she would simply make up reports.
Thompson noted that she felt comfortable doing so because her comments weren’t far off from what a coach might actually say in an interview.
The damage was already done as current and former sideline reporters have blasted her online.
Lisa Salters was one of them who shared how she felt about it.
“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,” Salters wrote. “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.”
In response, former ESPN personality Jemele Hill took to X and offered her own take on it and how it affected Black women.
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“My respect for Lisa Salters is infinite,” Hill said. “When I did sideline reporting in 2012, I reached out to her for insight on how to do the job the right way and she dropped jewels on me. A lot of women in our industry — but especially Black women — felt really betrayed by what CT admitted.”
Despite so much backlash she caused, Thomson was front and center on Prime Video’s broadcast on Thursday night for the Bengals-Ravens game and it does not appear that anything will happen to her from either Amazon or Fox Sports.
Thompson, who previously hosted an afternoon program on ESPN, is now the host of Fox Sports’ Sunday “NFL Kickoff” and Amazon Prime Video’s “Thursday Night Football.”
This isn’t the first time Thompson has admitted to making up a report. In her own “Calm Down” podcast in 2022, Thompson said she “made up a report” when working as a sideline reporter in 2008.
