Sideline reporters throughout sports media are reacting to the admission by Charissa Thompson of Fox Sports that she would sometimes “make up” information for viewers during her early days working that job.
ESPN’s Lisa Salters, who reports from the sideline for the Monday Night Football telecast, is the latest to denounce Thompson’s remarks for casting skepticism and doubt on the work performed by her peers to get information on injuries, coaching reactions, and more to viewers.
“Shocked. Disappointed. Disgusted,” Salters wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “What we heard today called all sideline reporters into question. My job is an honor, a privilege, and a craft at which I have worked so hard.”
“Trust and credibility,” Salters added. “They mean everything to a journalist. To violate either one – in any way – not only makes a mockery of the profession, but is a disservice to players, coaches and, most importantly, to fans.”
Trust and credibility. They mean everything to a journalist. To violate either one - in any way - not only makes a mockery of the profession, but is a disservice to players, coaches and, most importantly, to fans.
— Lisa Salters (@saltersl) November 17, 2023
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Salters joins others in the profession, including ESPN’s Molly McGrath and Jenna Laine, CBS’s Tracy Wolfson, and Fox Sports’s Laura Okmin in defending the preparation and literal footwork required to do the job well. All of them dismissed the notion that information is ever fabricated to cover for not getting an interview or simply to fill the airtime devoted to a report.
Fans of Barstool Sports’s Pardon My Take podcast, on which Thompson made her remarks, have defended the current Fox and Amazon Prime host for taking her comments out of context from what was a humorous conversation. Nonetheless, the comments have caused an uproar among Thompson’s peers, and she eventually might have to respond to the growing criticism.
