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Of all the reactions to Charissa Thompson’s comments in a recent episode of the “Pardon My Take” podcast. — in which the Fox Sports and NFL on Prime Video host said she did some halftime reports during her brief stint as a sideline reporter in the late 2000s — Laura Okmin’s reaction stood out to me the most.
First, like Thompson, Okmin works for Fox Sports, and in reality, being critical of a colleague is always professionally risky. Second, Okmin runs boot camps, workshops and coaching for women who work in sports (and want to work in sports one day) through GALvanize, an organization she founded in 2012. NFL sideline reporting is her job; Electroplating is her passion.
“The privilege of being a part-timer is being the only person in the world who has the opportunity to ask coaches what is happening at that moment,” Okmin wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “I can’t express how much time it takes to build that trust. I’m devastated by the text message I get asking if this is okay. No never.”
She continued.
“Use this as an opportunity to teach young reporters: There are coaches who give nothing — and even apologize for it early in the week,” Okmin said. “You gather information in these conversations and you take away: ‘He was looking for this and hoping he didn’t see that.’ My point is that YOU prepare for these cases.”
Okmin responded to these comments on Thompson’s sideline reports on “Pardon My Take”:
“I’ve said this before, so I didn’t get fired for it, but I’ll say it again. I sometimes made up the report because…the coach didn’t come out at halftime or it was too late and I didn’t want to mess up the report. So I was like, “I’m just going to make this up.” Because, first of all, no coach gets mad when I say, “Hey, we need to stop hurting ourselves, we need to be better in the third period, we need to stop doing that.” “To turn over the ball… and do a better job of getting it off the field.” They won’t correct me on that. So I’m like, ‘All right, I’ll just make up the report.'”
On Thursday evening I had a long conversation with Okmin about these comments. I asked her what motivated her to make her thoughts public, particularly as a Fox Sports contributor.
“My phone was blowing up like crazy,” Okmin said. “I’ve looked at all the GALvanize lyric groups over the years and everyone was sending this clip around and asking each other, ‘Is this OK?’ Do you do that? I don’t judge.’ So I’m trying to figure out what’s going on. Then I watched the clip. There are all these young women who are just trying to learn how to do this right, and they see someone they look up to saying it’s okay to do this and laughing about it. I didn’t think about myself or those around me. We are used to it. Pam (Oliver) and I texted all day. We are used to people questioning our value and devaluing us. I don’t think it affects us as much anymore. But I went into protection mode and started reaching out to all the groups (at GALvanize) saying this wasn’t okay. It is not acceptable.
“If this had happened 10 years ago, I would have kept it a secret,” Okmin continued. “But I now feel a responsibility as someone who is trying to advocate for women and help them find and use their voice. I have to use mine. So I ask, ‘Is this important to say?’ Is this worth having an impact if I say it?’ In this case, I knew it was important to say something.
“I didn’t learn to use my voice until I was 40. So when I see these 20- and 30-year-old women posting their feelings about this on social media, I would never have done that.” The wave of women standing up for each other is bigger than I’ve ever seen in over 30 years have experienced. And it’s not against Charissa, as strange as that may sound. Yes, I am so against her or anyone doing this, but I have known Charissa for a very long time. I hate violence against women, I was just so disappointed.”
Okmin was not alone. ESPN sideline reporter Molly McGrath used her social media platform making very pointed comments on the ethics of such a statement. CBS Sports reporter Tracy Wolfson and professional football Hall of Fame reporter Andrea Kremer spoke out. The same was true for ESPN Lisa Salters. There were many other thoughtful and passionate Answer.
The comments are particularly damaging, as Okmin pointed out, because so many sports viewers in 2023 still view sideline reporters as useless or dehumanizing. I’ve interviewed many sideline reporters over the years, including the producers and directors they work with, and the viewing audience has no idea how valuable they are to a show. What you see from sideline reporters on the air is only a fraction of what they provide to the booth announcers before, during and after a game. You talk to the stock truck throughout the game. They provide a view of the playing field. During production meetings with players and coaches, they often provide answers that are translated into graphics or on-air storylines. This information is almost always not attributed to them. It is an accepted practice that if the show benefits from the information, everyone will look good.
Laura Okmin interviews new Raiders coach Antonio Pierce after a game earlier this month. “It’s not OK. That’s not acceptable,” she said of the idea of making up side reports. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
That is the potential harm of these comments. I have interviewed Thompson many times and corresponded with her professionally, and from my perspective she is a genuine person. She is well-liked by her Fox Sports and Amazon colleagues, a professional and talented host who shares the microphone well with others. Like many guests on this podcast, I believe that you can get caught pushing yourself to the limit. She also mentioned a similar story on her podcast almost two years ago. None of this is meant to excuse the plot or the narrative being so flippant, although I think there’s little point in retroactively disciplining it years later.
A spokesman for Amazon’s NFL on Prime Video declined to comment. Fox Sports also declined to comment.
Okmin said she spent much of Thursday interacting with women in the industry and spoke with many current sideline reporters. She and McGrath texted, and Okmin said she told McGrath that she wouldn’t have used her voice when she was McGrath’s age. Okmin also reached out to Thompson after she posted, saying she only didn’t do so sooner because Thompson had her usual “Thursday Night Football” assignment last night.
“I’m sorry I didn’t reach out to Charissa before posting it,” Okmin said. “Maybe it doesn’t mean anything in hindsight. But I have to say to Fox that they have always been understanding of how I feel about GALvanize and have spoken out on issues affecting women in sports. You know I have a lot of women that I mentor and a lot of women that I try to help. They have never gotten in my way in the 12 years that GALvanize has been around.
“The hardest part is that you never want it to be woman versus woman,” Okmin continued. “It’s a really unpleasant thing because Charissa is in the middle of it right now and I feel bad for her. But I’m talking about the role. Our title is “part-time reporter,” and it is important for every journalist, aspiring or current, to understand what that definition entails. Coaches called me today and asked if this is common and I have to reassure them that it is not – and this conversation sets us back. It’s very competitive to get here and even more difficult to stay here, but if you do it right, you earn longevity. Build up trust. Build relationships. That’s the difference between a great gig and a career. I just want every young woman and man who wants to pursue this career to understand that this is not the right path.”
The whole thing leaves me feeling terrible for reporters like Okmin, Oliver, Wolfson and others who are currently living their jobs and having to deal with the consequences. Unfortunately, I can guarantee that some of the comments attached to this story will contain the usual old nonsense about sideline reporting.
It’s a shame – and it’s also untrue.
(Top photo: Andy Lewis / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)