Fox Sports’ Charissa Thompson has apologized after admitting she made up information during her days as an NFL reporter, despite walking back her claim that she regularly made up quotes from coaches.
The host of ‘Fox NFL Kickoff’ and Amazon’s ‘Thursday Night Football’ made the stunning revelation this week when he appeared on Barstool Sports’ ‘Pardon My Take’ podcast.
Thompson caused widespread controversy by explaining, “I’ve said this before, so I’m not fired for saying it, but I’ll say it again – I sometimes made up the report because A, the coach wouldn’t come during the halftime or it was too late and I thought, I didn’t want to mess up the report, so I thought, “I’m just going to make this up.”
‘Because first of all, no coach is going to get mad if I say, ‘Hey, we’ve got to stop hurting ourselves, we’ve got to be better on third down, we’ve got to stop turning the ball over… It’s better to get off the field.” For example, they are not going to correct me on that.’
Despite outrage over her confession, Thompson still hosted the Amazon Prime broadcast for Thursday night’s NFL game between the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals. She did not address the uproar in her pre-match reporting.
Charissa Thompson has apologized after admitting to making up information during her days as an NFL reporter
Thompson made the admission on a podcast earlier this week and her comments were dismissed by fellow reporters
In a statement on Friday, the presenter finally addressed the ‘elephant in the room’, insisting she had ‘chosen the wrong words to describe the situation’
However, in a statement on Friday, the presenter ultimately addressed the “elephant in the room” and emphasized that she had “chosen the wrong words to describe the situation.”
“Okay, let’s address the elephant in the room,” Thompson said in a statement on social media. ‘I have a responsibility to myself and my employers to make it clear what is being reported.
‘While on a podcast this week, I mentioned that I would be reporting early in my career, when I worked as a sideline reporter, before transitioning into my current presenting role.
‘Working in the media I understand how important words are and I chose the wrong words to describe the situation. I’m sorry.
“I never lied about anything or acted unethically during my time as a sports broadcaster.”
She continued, “If there wasn’t a coach providing information that could advance my report, I would use the information I learned and saw during the first half to create my report.
“For example, if a team was 0 for 7 on third down, that would clearly be an area where they need to improve in the second half. In these cases I never attributed anything to a player or coach.
“I have nothing but respect for sideline reporters and the tireless work they do behind the scenes and on the field. I am nothing but grateful and humbled to work with some of the best in the industry and call them some of my best friends.”
As she faced the cameras Thursday night in Baltimore, Thompson’s industry colleagues were outraged by her claim of fabricated information.
CBS Sports sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson was one of several reporters outraged
CBS Sports sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson wrote on X: “This is absolutely not okay, not the norm and disturbing on so many levels.
‘I take my job very seriously, I hold myself accountable for everything I say, I build trust with coaches and never make anything up. I know my fellow reporters are doing the same.”
Fellow Fox Sports reporter Laura Okmin said: “THE privilege of a side role is that you are the only person in the entire world who has the ability to ask coaches what is happening at that moment.
‘I can’t express how much time it takes to build that trust. Devastated by the texts I get asking if this is okay. No never.’
Buster Olney of ESPN responded to Okmin, saying, “If the coach/manager refuses to answer questions, that’s where you start. And then tune in to other information.”
Jenna Laine, also from ESPN, said: “I’ve spent time as a sideline reporter and have dealt with cases where access and immediate information have been a challenge.
“If I may… this is why you’re overpreparing. Trust the reporting from earlier in the week with the best storylines and get truly unique backstories. I hope that helps.’