Charissa Thompson says she fabricated reports as an NFL sideline reporter

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(WJW) — Charissa Thompson, a Fox Sports and Amazon Prime Video “Thursday Night Football” host, has issued an apology after revealing that she used to invent reports while working as an NFL sideline reporter earlier in her career.

During an episode of the “Pardon My Take” podcast released on Wednesday, Thompson openly admitted to creating fictional reports.

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Thompson stated, “I haven’t been fired for saying it, but I’ll say it again. I would make up the report sometimes because, A: The coach wouldn’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 gonna make this up.'”

She further explained, “No coach is gonna get mad if I say, ‘Hey, we need to stop hurting ourselves, we need to be better on third down, we need to stop turning the ball over and do a better job of getting off the field.’ Like, they’re not gonna correct me on that. I’m like, ‘It’s fine, I’ll just make up the report.'”

Thompson, who began working as an NFL sideline reporter for Fox Sports in the late 2000s and previously hosted an afternoon program on ESPN, currently serves as the host of Fox Sports’ Sunday “NFL Kickoff” and Amazon Prime Video’s “Thursday Night Football.”

On Friday, she took to Instagram to post a statement clarifying her comments made during the podcast. Thompson expressed regret for her choice of words and acknowledged the importance of honesty in the media. She emphasized that she has never lied or acted unethically during her time as a sports broadcaster.

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The host clarified, “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. For example, if a team was 0 for 7 on 3rd down, that would clearly be an area they need to improve on in the second half. In these instances, I never attributed anything said to a player or coach.”

Thompson concluded her statement by expressing her respect for sideline reporters and their diligent work behind the scenes and on the field. She expressed gratitude for the opportunity to work alongside some of the best professionals in the industry, considering them her closest friends.

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