Fox Sports host Charissa Thompson has made herself very unpopular with fellow sportscasters by admitting that she made up quotes from coaches when she was a sideline reporter. Thompson, who also hosts Amazon Prime's Thursday Night Football, told the "Pardon My Take" podcast that she would sometimes fabricate quotes because "the coach wouldn't come out at halftime, or it was too late" and she "didn't want to screw up the report," the Washington Post reports. She said she assumed that coaches wouldn't mind if she attributed clichéd lines like "we need to stop turning the ball over and do a better job of getting off the field" to them. Some reactions:
- Laura Okmin, Fox Sports sideline reporter: "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," Okmin said in a post on X. "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."
- Tracy Wolfson, CBS sideline reporter: "This is absolutely not ok, not the norm and upsetting on so many levels," Wolfson posted on X. "I take my job very seriously, I hold myself accountable for all I say, I build trust with coaches and never make something up. I know my fellow reporters do the same."
- Molly McGrath, ABC and ESPN sideline reporter: "Young reporters: This is not normal or ethical. Coaches and players trust us with sensitive information, and if they know that you're dishonest and don't take your role seriously, you've lost all trust and credibility," McGrath posted.
- Chris Kirchner, Yankees reporter at the Athletic: "A good portion of the public doesn't trust the media as is. I cannot believe she would proudly admit this. This causes significant harm to the people who actually take the job seriously. It's entirely unethical and worthy of never working in the field again."
- Mike Freeman, USA Today: "There's no way Thompson, who has been doing this for more than a decade and knows better, should survive this. This is a firing offense. It's not even close."
Okmin, founder of the GALvanize organization, which mentors women working in sports, tells the Athletic that she feels "horrible" for Thompson, but she felt she had to speak out against her Fox colleague's remarks. "I've had coaches call me today and ask if that's common, and I have to assure them it is not—and that conversation sets us back," she says. Okmin says her phone started "blowing up like crazy" after the podcast. "There are all of these young women who are just trying to learn how to do this the right way and they see someone who they look up to very much say it's OK to do this and laughing about it," she says. (More football stories.)
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