Charissa Thompson says she used to make up fake NFL sideline reports
Former NFL sideline reporter Charissa Thompson admits not everything she reported was true.
On Thursday, NFL broadcaster Charissa Thompson said she made up statements from coaches while working as a sideline reporter. She now works as a presenter for Fox Sports and Amazon Prime Video.
“I made up the report sometimes because A. the coach didn’t come at halftime or it was too late,” she said on the “Pardon My Take” podcast, “and I thought, ‘I didn’t want to mess up the report.’ , so I thought, “I’ll just make this up.”
Many reporters across the sports world responded to Thompson’s admission, saying her actions violated journalistic ethics, which never tolerate fabricating information.
Mike Freeman of USA TODAY Sports wrote about the offense that Thompson’s actions constituted.
“I had to watch the video several times to make sure I wasn’t being pranked. Yes, that’s what she said,” he wrote. “There is no way Thompson, who has been doing this for more than a decade and knows better, should survive this. This is a shooting offense. It’s not even close.”
Several other sportswriters shared on social media why Thompson was wrong.
Andrea Kremer and Lisa Salters respond to Charissa Thompson for making up reports
Award-winning reporter Andrea Kremer, recipient of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2018 Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award, went to X to explain why Thompson’s actions were offensive.
“As one of only three women in the @ProFootballHOF, I am disgusted by the insulting ridicule made to sideline reporting,” she said, “a challenging role filled primarily by women – most of whom understand the values of journalism and respect and act as integral, trusted members of a broadcast team.”
Lisa Salters, a veteran journalist who works as a sideline reporter for “Monday Night Football” and covered the Super Bowl, Posted on X for the first time since March to share their thoughts on how Thompson’s admission leaves a bad impression on the industry.
“Shocked. Disappointed. Disgusted. What we heard today questioned all the sideline reporters. My job is an honor, a privilege and a craft that I have worked so hard on…” she said said in two posts.
“Trust and credibility. They mean everything to a journalist. Injuring one of them – in whatever form – not only makes a mockery of the profession, but is also a disservice to players, coaches and, above all, the fans.”
Other journalists are ‘devastated’ and call Charissa Thompson’s comments ‘deplorable’
NBC Sports’ Kathryn Tappen called Thompson’s statement “unfortunate” in a post on X.
“I hold myself to the highest standards in everything I do – I know my hard-working colleagues do the same,” she said. “We earn respect the hard way. To those who comment on the irrelevant role of sideline reporters: strike! WE ARE JOURNALISTS. THESE actions are not normal.”
CBS Sports NFL and NCAA basketball reporter Tracy Wolfson, intervened with how the news affected them.
“This is absolutely not OK, not the norm and disturbing in many ways,” she said. “I take my job very seriously, I take responsibility for everything I say, I build trust with the coaches and I never make anything up. I know my fellow reporters do the same.”
ESPN’s Molly McGrath offered Thompson’s comments as a lesson for young journalists.
“This is neither normal nor ethical,” she said wrote on X. “Coaches and players trust us with confidential information, and if they know you are being dishonest and not taking your role seriously, you have lost all trust and credibility.”
Chris Kirschner, The Athletic’s New York Yankees reporter, also offered some thoughts via his personal X account.
“A large portion of the public does not trust the media in its current form,” he said. “I can’t believe she would proudly admit that. This is seriously damaging to the people who actually take the job seriously. It is completely unethical and deserves to never work in this field again.”
Also Laura Okmin, NFL sideline reporter for FOX shared her thoughts on the social media platform.
“The privilege of being a part-timer is being the only person in the world who has the opportunity to ask coaches what’s happening in that moment,” she said. “I can’t put into words how much time it takes to build that trust. I’m devastated by the text messages I’m getting asking if this is okay. No. Never.”
Sports reporters suggest how Charissa Thompson could have handled sideline reports
ESPN baseball reporter Buster Olney responded to Okmin’s statement, agreed with her comments. He added a suggestion for how to properly handle the situations that Thompson said led to writing reports.
“If the coach/manager refuses to answer any questions, that’s where you start,” he said. “And then fly on for other information.”
Veteran reporter Lindsay Rhodes, a former host of NFL Network’s “Total Access,” also offered a solution for what someone might do if faced with a situation in which Thompson felt pressured.
“She tells the producer, ‘He hasn’t stopped,’ and they don’t turn to the sideline reporter for an update she doesn’t have.” she said on X. “OR she tells the audience that in her report. Or she observes things herself and reports on them without leading anyone to think that it came from someone who doesn’t.”
Criticism of Charissa Thompson’s comments impacting women in sports
Lyndsey D’Arcangelo, women’s basketball reporter at The Athletic, examined the impact Thompson’s influence has on women in sports media. Women have historically been the minority in the industry and continue to break barriers.
“I don’t think she realizes what that looks like,” she said said on X. “Women have had to work so hard to gain credibility, to prove themselves and to show that they are capable of more than just reporting on the side, but so much more. “Think of how many years it took just for Beth Mowins to call an NFL game.”
NFL reporter Lindsay Jones wrote that Thompson’s quote was “unforgivable.”
“I thought it was a near-universal experience for women in sports media: feeling like you have to work twice as hard to be taken seriously; that you can’t bear to make a mistake.” Jones wrote about X. “The cavalier manner in which Charissa Thompson blithely admitted to making up quotes is unforgivable.”
So does Lindsay Gibbs, women’s sports journalist and founder of the Power Play newsletter expressed his frustration on social media think about what the situation means for women.
“I just think about how hard women in sports have worked to be taken seriously,” she said, “how many trailblazers made it possible for her to get this job just to do this job (expletive).”
The Patriots host is Tamara Brown shared the opinion that comments like Thompson’s complicate the already difficult journey for women in sports, particularly women of color.
“As a black woman who worked hard to get a job as a sideline reporter at the station, this is upsetting,” she said. “I was told I wasn’t ready, nothing was open, I hadn’t read it… whatever. Yet there are people like you in these roles who don’t take it seriously.”
ESPN college sports reporter Morgan Uber repeated the criticism of Thompson’s actionscalls them “extremely annoying and completely unethical,” while highlighting the difficulties women face when they are judged by their looks rather than their work ethic.
“This is already a role in a job that is already labeled as ‘eye candy,'” she said. “Good sideline reporters do their homework, talk to players and coaches throughout the week and on game day, and definitely don’t make up reports. Point. There’s still journalism involved, no matter what you might think.”