Amazon Prime’s Thursday Night Football sideline reporter Mollie McGrath has taken issue with recent comments from Fox Sports‘ NFL Kickoff host Charissa Thompson about her time as a sideline reporter at Fox. In an interview on a podcast, Thompson admitted that she sometimes fabricated reports when coaches wouldn’t come out at halftime or it was too late.
McGrath criticized Thompson for her actions, arguing that the behavior is neither normal nor ethical. She explained that coaches and players rely on reporters to share sensitive information with them and that if reporters act dishonestly, they can lose their trust and credibility.
Thompson defended her behavior by saying that no coaches would get angry because the information she made up was generic in nature. However, McGrath countered this by arguing that the trust between coaches, players, and reporters is based on honesty and accuracy, and any deviation from these principles can have serious consequences.