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Social Media Is Flipping Out Over News That NFL Sideline Reporter Charissa Thompson Has Been “Making Up Reports”

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This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.

Charissa Thompson on Thursday Night Football
Charissa Thompson (Brad Penner-Imagn Images)

Sometimes being on a podcast can be great, but Charissa Thompson certainly found out the downside of sharing so much.

The Fox Sports and Amazon Prime Video host admitted that she fabricated NFL sideline reports early in her career. It was done when coaches were unavailable at halftime. Thompson appeared on “Pardon My Take,” a Barstool Sports podcast, when she admitted this information.

“I’ve said this before, so I haven’t been fired for saying it, but I’ll say it again. I would make up the report sometimes,” Thompson said during the interview. “Because, A, the coach wouldn’t come out at halftime, or it was too late and … I didn’t want to screw up the report, so I was like, ‘I’m just going to make this up.’”

Thompson was correct in saying that she had spoken about this before. However, saying it on her podcast did cause this type of traction. Saying it on Barstool caused a wave of backlash.

Social Media Responded To Charissa Thompson Making Up False Reports

NFL Host Charissa Thompson Wows Fans With Stunning Vacation Photos
Charissa Thompson (Photo By Eric Hartline-Imagn Images)

Charissa Thompson, a Fox Sports and Amazon Prime Video host of “Thursday Night Football,” caused a wave of controversy. She said on a podcast that she would sometimes “make up” quotes in her sideline reports during NFL games early in her career.

At the time, Dan Le Batard suggested that Thompson’s scandal was a “fireable offense.” Thompson noted that she felt comfortable doing so because her comments weren’t far off from what a coach might actually say in an interview.

In response, former ESPN personality Jemele Hill said Thompson betrayed Black women with her admission.

Here is how social media responded:

“Honestly, that’s risky, but I get the pressure to deliver content on time 😬,” one person said.

“Isn’t that a fraudulent act?” a second person asked.

“FOX is fake news?????” a third person asked.

“Fans always trust sideline updates, now knowing some were made up… yikes 😳,” a fourth person wrote.

In an Instagram story posted around that time, Charissa Thomspn explained, “I would make up the report sometimes,” which really meant “In the absence of a coach providing any information that could further my report, I would use information that I learned and saw during the first half to create my report.”

Thompson previously admitted to making up sideline reports in 2022 during an episode of her podcast, “Calm Down” with Erin and Charissa, featuring NFL sideline reporter Erin Andrews. Andrews added that she had also engaged in the practice during that podcast, but there was no backlash at the time.

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