Charissa Thompson. Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

NFL reporter under fire for admitting she made up sideline reports

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated 11/16/23

If you've ever felt that perhaps the information coming from the sideline reporter during a big game isn't all that hard-hitting or relevant, perhaps you were onto something.

If it sounded made up, though, there was a chance it was. That is, if that report was coming from Charissa Thompson.

Recently speaking on the "Pardon My Take" podcast, Thompson — who has worked for ESPN and currently reports for Fox Sports and "Thursday Night Football" — admitted that sometimes when she couldn't get with the players or coach on the sideline, she'd just make the report up.

“I’ve said this before. 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 screw up the report. So I was like, ‘I’m just gonna make this up,'" Thompson said (h/t Awful Announcing).

That's quite an admission, and it didn't go over well — especially with other folks in the sports journalism industry.

Here's a taste of the criticism Thompson received:

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. https://t.co/yMnM1T995P
— Molly McGrath (@MollyAMcGrath) November 16, 2023

Charissa Thompson messed up on many levels.

1) Making up reports. Pretty self evident as to why.
2) I get it PMT is a relaxed environment, but revealing that was an odd choice
3) All the sideline reporters who do the job correctly look bad as a result.
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) November 16, 2023