(Washington) A journalist covering NFL games said she “invented” some coaches’ statements for years, causing a stir in the world of sports journalism in the United States, before backpedaling on Friday by denying any lies.
Charissa Thompson has previously served as a sideline reporter for Fox Sports and now works for streaming platform Amazon Prime, where she is the lead host of pre- and post-game discussions on Thursday night NFL games.
In an episode of the Pardon My Take podcast broadcast on Wednesday, she admitted to having sometimes “invented” certain content of her pitchside interventions.
“I said it before and I didn’t get fired so I’ll say it again: I was sometimes making it up because a coach didn’t come out (of the locker room) at halftime, or it was just too late and I was like ‘I don’t want to screw up the procedure’ so I was like ‘I’m just going to make this up,'” Charissa Thompson said.
His statements quickly sparked controversy in the journalism community, with some accusing him of discrediting – through these lies – the work of other journalists in the field.
“It makes me sick (to see) how fieldside journalism, a difficult role performed primarily by women, most of whom understand and respect the values of journalism, is insultingly derided,” wrote on reporter Andrea Kremer, who has covered the NFL for more than 40 years.
Responding to the controversy in an Instagram post on Friday, Charissa Thompson walked back her comments.
She said she “never lied or was unethical” in her career.
“In the absence of a coach who could provide me with information for my intervention (on screen), I used information that I had gleaned during the first half to develop my intervention,” she writes.
“In these cases, I never attributed what I said to a player or a coach,” adds Charissa Thompson.
