Journalism watchdog Tom Jones of the Poynter Institute has a reputation for fairness. But even he wonders if Charissa Thompson committed a fireable offense by admitting she sometimes made up sideline reports with coaches.
“I cannot cannot believe she said that. I’m stunned she would admit that on the air,” Jones said Thursday. “It completely sabotages every sideline reporter there is. Why should audiences now trust other sideline reporters – when one of the most prominent ones admits she makes things up?”
A hot take? Maybe, maybe not.
That was just one of the passionate reactions among sports media Thursday afternoon after Thompson’s interview with Barstool Sports’ popular “Pardon My Take” podcast went public.
“I’ve said this before, so I haven’t been fired for saying it, but I will say it again,” Thompson said on the podcast. “I would make up the report sometimes. Because A, the coach wouldn’t come out at halftime. 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 going to make this up.’ Because first of all, no coach is going to 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 going to correct me on that. So I’m like, ‘It’s fine, I’ll just make up the report.’”
I know and respect the talented Thompson. As noted, she broached this topic on her podcast with Erin Andrews without losing her lucrative hosting gigs with Amazon Prime Video and Fox Sports. Andrews admitted she did the same thing.
Thompson posted an ‘apology’ and explanation for her comments on Instagram Friday.
“I have never lied about anything or been unethical during my time as a sports broadcaster,” she said on the platform.
But this could have caused damage on multiple levels.
For one thing, if you’re a sideline reporter at another network, you will have to deal with this question.
Nobody thinks that pros like Andrews or Tom Rinaldi of Fox, Lisa Salters and Malika Andrews of ESPN or Melissa Stark of NBC Sports are making up sideline reports or putting words in coaches’ mouths.
But few people thought that about Thompson before she brought it up again on PMT.
The sad thing is she’s already elevated herself to a studio host from a sideline reporter. So, this was an unforced error on her part.
As veteran sideline reporter Laura Okmin tweeted: “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.”
Then there are the journalists working to climb the ladder as Thompson did.
In a series of tweets, New England Patriots reporter Tamara Brown wrote Thompson’s comments infuriated her. ‘If I, A BLACK WOMAN, said those same things I would bet $ that I would be reprimanded & unable to get another sideline reporting job.’
Then there are football coaches. They’re already paranoid. We’ve already seen the likes of Nick Saban go after Maria Taylor for asking straightforward questions. This could give the usual blowhard coaches more ammo to clamp down on media access.
Finally, there are the fans.
There’s always been a segment of male football fans who never liked or wanted female sideline reporters.
They’re eye candy. They never played the game. Why should I listen to a word they say?
This will only embolden them to dismiss sideline reporters as lazy, unprofessional frauds.
Finally, this could lead some TV networks to eliminate sideline reporters.
Don’t think it can happen? Think again. In 2006, CBS Sports decided to eliminate sideline reporters for NFL games. As other networks began to follow suit, the position looked to be on its way out.
That was before the lights went out at Super Bowl XLVII in 2013.
Instead of real, trained sideline reporters who could interview players/coaches and ferret out information, CBS had several useless ex-players standing around with mics.
It was a coverage debacle. It’s no accident CBS reversed field and brought back sideline reporters. Tracy Wolfson has been a key contributor on the network’s NFL broadcast team with Jim Nantz and Tony Romo for years.
Prime Video executives love Thompson. And with good reason. She knitted together a brand-new studio TV that included several TV rookies. She helped give Prime credibility during its first two exclusive seasons of NFL coverage.
So, I say give Thompson the benefit of the doubt. I will be curious what she, Prime Video, and Fox have to say about her comments.
But the press’ credibility is already low enough, noted Jones. He hopes Thompson didn’t do damage other sideline reporters can’t fix.
“If I’m another sideline reporter, I’m thinking Charissa Thompson just did serious damage to our credibility,” he said. “It’s like Stephen Glass or Jayson Blair. One screw-up – and everybody sees the media as a bunch of liars.”
Amazon Prime Video and Fox declined to comment on the issue.
What They Are Saying
Several high-profile sports sideline reporters weighed in on social media on this matter.
| CBS NFL Sideline Reporter: Tracy Wolfson |
| ESPN College Football Sideline Reporter: Molly McGrath |
| ESPN Reporter: Kris Budden |
| NBC Big Ten Football Reporter: Kathryn Tappen |
| Philadelphia Eagles Sideline Reporter: Howard Eskin |
| Hall of Fame Broadcaster: Andrea Kramer |
| Longtime NFL Sideline Reporter: Michele Tafoya |
| ESPN Sideline Reporter: Lisa Salters |
