Clarissa Thompson admits to fabricating sideline reports.

[Captain Hindsight]

32 minutes ago, LeviF said:

 

A lot of them are taking to twitter saying things like "yes we have super serious big girl jobs nobody should undermine that! NOBODY!!!"

Probably because they are worried about their jobs now, I don't blame them. I personally don't think sideline reporters add much to the broadcast, but I also know more about the game than most fans because of sites like this 

[Mr. WEO]

48 minutes ago, Captain Hindsight said:

I don’t care personally, it’s just filler in the middle of the game. But saying that kind of puts sideline reporters jobs in jeopardy. If people know it’s a farce, from a sideline reporter, it makes the rest of them vulnerable. 
 

If I was a sideline reporter, I’d be pissed. Erodes trust in the profession 

 

vulnerable to...what?  being fired for getting actual useless quotes from coaches who never want to talk to them---and never ever offer any useful insight?

 

I don't understand what a sideline person would be worried about.  It's not like she broke a fake story--she made up the quotes these guys give her 100% of the time.  where's the harm?

 

Sideline reporters should worry that network execs will wake up one day and ask: "why are we paying these people to do this?"

 

 

[Captain Hindsight]

4 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

vulnerable to...what?  being fired for getting actual useless quotes from coaches who never want to talk to them---and never ever offer any useful insight?

 

I don't understand what a sideline person would be worried about.  It's not like she broke a fake story--she made up the quotes these guys give her 100% of the time.  where's the harm?

 

Sideline reporters should worry that network execs will wake up one day and ask: "why are we paying these people to do this?"

 

 

This is exactly what I'm referring to. Networks are cutting costs, now that this is out, sideline reporting is an easy target

[colin]

3 hours ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

This one of the dumbest stories ever. She was on PArdon My Take and was having fun. People have to find things to get angry now. Lay off my ex. She’s a great person. 

 

you're just defending her because you know she reads the board and you are waiting for that late night text.

 

respect.

[strive_for_five_guy]

Just now, colin said:

 

you're just defending her because you know she reads the board and you are waiting for that late night text.

 

respect.

“hey Biscuit - you know what really gets me going?  when I see you defending my honor on TBD”

[Mr. WEO]

11 minutes ago, Captain Hindsight said:

This is exactly what I'm referring to. Networks are cutting costs, now that this is out, sideline reporting is an easy target

 

did the fire her the last time she admitted this before today?

 

Sideline reporters are almost always women in the NFL--it's the networks very cynical display to show "look, we have women reporters--and they are doing vital things!"

 

They are safe....

[Big Turk]

Amazing admission of lack of ethics and even worse to be bragging about it.  If I was in a relationship with her, I would immediately walk...this type of behavior doesn't happen in a vacuum and this is not a person I would want to be associated with. Only thing saving her from getting fired is because she is hot, which is sad since they get free passes from people all the time for poor behavior in pretty much all aspects of their life.

 

When people tell you who they are, believe them.  

 

 

 

 

[strive_for_five_guy]

24 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

Amazing admission of lack of ethics and even worse to be bragging about it.  If I was in a relationship with her, I would immediately walk...this type of behavior doesn't happen in a vacuum and this is not a person I would want to be associated with. Only thing saving her from getting fired is because she is hot, which is sad since they get free passes from people all the time for poor behavior in pretty much all aspects of their life.

 

When people tell you who they are, believe them.  

 

 

 

 

You mean to say if she was ugly, she’d be fired already?

[Big Turk]

5 minutes ago, strive_for_five_guy said:

You mean to say if she was ugly, she’d be fired already?

 

Well, likely she would never have been hired in the first place, but if she was then 100% yes.

[stuvian]

Most MSM is bs, no surprise 

[JakeFrommStateFarm]

That is one good looking woman.

 

I don't care how much she lies to me

[UConn James]

2 hours ago, Captain Hindsight said:

This is exactly what I'm referring to. Networks are cutting costs, now that this is out, sideline reporting is an easy target

I think the only reason broadcasters have sideline reporters is to give some jobs to women to be able to say they hired women, and to give some time to some eye candy to fill in the dead moments between the approximately 11 minutes (and, yes, this is an real thing) of actual gameplay in a 3 hour broadcast. Gotta keep short attention span Americans watching the screen by jumping between fifty cameras.

 

I often watch with the sound down very low because honestly, I don’t really wanna listen to two or three shmucks in a booth tell me what I just saw with my own eyes and make blabbering empty-talk. I watch Wimbledon and on the outer courts in earlier rounds they just have a live feed, no commentators or ones that only rarely speak to o point out actually important things but otherwise STHU. It’s like you’re sitting in the stands but with THE best view and replays. Would that we could have that for NFL… but then it’d be patently obvious how terrible it is to watch football as a spectator with so many tv timeouts and such.

[Thrivefourfive]

5 hours ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

You mean those stereotypical cliches that come out of an off camera "coach interview" at the half can be fabricated? Shocked. 

 

They can do away with those mid game on screen coaches interviews as well. 

Let’s not forget the insane enthusiasm most of these sideline reporters think they’re selling to the audiences. 

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

5 hours ago, Gregg said:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/11/16/charissa-thompson-fabricate-sideline-reports/

I'm amused by the fact that a Bezos employee is being reported on by other Bezos employees

 

[JPL7]

As if these dumb “sideline reports” weren’t useless enough, now we can assume they are all fabricated anyway. Honestly, what would be missing in game if those gals weren’t around? 
 

Quite frankly, football doesn’t need women involved in anyway to thrive. Football without cheerleaders, without these “sideline reporters” and desk hosts would be no different. 

[Reks Ryan]

5 hours ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

But it hurts all the truly great sideline reporters!!!! Would anyone honestly care if they didn’t have sideline reporters? They are about as useful politicians. 🥁

It really is pointless.  They could just put a pretty girl on the screen talking about any nonsense for 2 minutes and most of would be just as happy. 

 

I've watched thousands of pro & college football games on TV, and the only 2 memorable in-game interviews I remember are when Namath told Suzy Kolber he "I don't give a damn about the NY Jets, I just wanna kiss you" and when Peyton Manning called out his "idiot kicker".   So about once every thousand games you get something interesting.   

 

Post-game are occasionally interesting when players or coaches are all fired up after a win or depressed after a loss, and say something genuine before they have time to cool down.

 

[Steptide]

Everytime I hear a sideline reporter say on a broadcast "I talked to so and so at halftime and"..... I immediately think to myself "no they didn't". So easy to fabricate this stuff 

[C.Biscuit97]

2 hours ago, colin said:

 

you're just defending her because you know she reads the board and you are waiting for that late night text.

 

respect.

[Aussie Joe]

16 minutes ago, JPL7 said:

As if these dumb “sideline reports” weren’t useless enough, now we can assume they are all fabricated anyway. Honestly, what would be missing in game if those gals weren’t around? 
 

Quite frankly, football doesn’t need women involved in anyway to thrive. Football without cheerleaders, without these “sideline reporters” and desk hosts would be no different. 

It doesn’t “need it”… but I suspect that women sideline reporting (on all male sports … both in the US and my country) is here to stay …

 

Anyway … I see she has apologised ….and has qualified her comments to emphasise that she has “never lied”…

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67456034

 

 

 

 

[Best Williams Available]

Good thing no one listens to those reports anyway.

[nedboy7]

1 hour ago, stuvian said:

Most MSM is bs, no surprise 

 

That's why I get all my news from TikTok and FB. 

[1st&ten]

Simple solution, do away with the sideline reporting & replace it with commercials so maybe we could have a few less during the game.

 

[Just in Atlanta]

“We have to play complimentary football”

 

I can invent quotes too.

[eball]

Interesting responses in this thread.  Taken for the specific situation involved — it’s meaningless.  Halftime reports are one big nothing burger.

 

More important bigger picture — women lose credibility as journalists in an arena in which they have struggled and fought to gain a foothold.

 

She didn’t do women journalists any favors.

 

[Behindenemylines]

7 hours ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

This one of the dumbest stories ever. She was on PArdon My Take and was having fun. People have to find things to get angry now. Lay off my ex. She’s a great person. 

So she’s good at faking other things too😁

[oldmanfan]

Career suicide

[PBF81]

7 hours ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

I guess I just don’t care haha. I’m a guy who doesn’t care what the commentators (it’s insane what they pay those guys because they are all the same to me) or sideline reporters say. They offer nothing to me. In fact, I would enjoy made up fact more (“Sean McDermott said he had a stressful week because he buried 3 people in his basement but is looking forward to the game today”),

 

Ya know, I was wondering whether anyone would make that comment.  

 

Am I the only one that often turns those idiotic game announcers off, as in mute the game, just to be able to watch the game in peace while drawing my own conclusions.  

 

95%, if not more, of what they say is obvious.  The officials tell you want the penalties are.  

 

Years ago, I think it was John Madden commentating, he blathered on about how that was one of the strengths of the team.  A little later on in the game something happened, or didn't, and he completely contradicted himself and made the comment about how the exact same thing was a weakness and something that they were trying to correct.  

 

Anyway, if it's a deep throw to [insert name of receiver] for a reception, I think that we can pretty much deterimine that for ourselves.  LOL  

The officials signal what the penalties are.  You don't even need sound for that.  

 

 

[WhoTom]

An insider's view of sideline reporters:

 

 

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

22 hours ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

This one of the dumbest stories ever. She was on PArdon My Take and was having fun. People have to find things to get angry now. Lay off my ex. She’s a great person. 

 

14 hours ago, Behindenemylines said:

So she’s good at faking other things too😁

Updated score:

Behindenemylines:          1

C.Biscuit97:                     0

[Mr. WEO]

15 hours ago, eball said:

Interesting responses in this thread.  Taken for the specific situation involved — it’s meaningless.  Halftime reports are one big nothing burger.

 

More important bigger picture — women lose credibility as journalists in an arena in which they have struggled and fought to gain a foothold.

 

She didn’t do women journalists any favors.

 

 

Another woman journalist, commenting on this woman journalist has already conceded that NFL women journalists have been relegated to being "eye candy" i.e. "sideline reporters".   

 

All Clarissa Thompson has done is point out how phony this all is.  A token female prop tasked with eliciting inane BS form NFL HC's during games occasionally does not want to be bothered by the network's nod to the ladies who may be watching and refuses to talk, so the sideline reporter simply fills in the blanks on the HC's interview script.

 

again, good for her.  This is all just network cynicism being exposed.  Give these women  something real to do as reporters or spare us all this goofy display. 

[eball]

2 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

Another woman journalist, commenting on this woman journalist has already conceded that NFL women journalists have been relegated to being "eye candy" i.e. "sideline reporters".   

 

All Clarissa Thompson has done is point out how phony this all is.  A token female prop tasked with eliciting inane BS form NFL HC's during games occasionally does not want to be bothered by the network's nod to the ladies who may be watching and refuses to talk, so the sideline reporter simply fills in the blanks on the HC's interview script.

 

again, good for her.  This is all just network cynicism being exposed.  Give these women  something real to do as reporters or spare us all this goofy display. 

I don’t disagree with you but she should have presented it that way rather than boasting how she made up reports. Use the forum she has to talk about needed change. 
 

[H2o]

[Nextmanup]

23 hours ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

You mean those stereotypical cliches that come out of an off camera "coach interview" at the half can be fabricated? Shocked. 

 

They can do away with those mid game on screen coaches interviews as well. 

The entire concept of the "sideline reporter" should be done away with...unless it's an actual journalist who is only gathering real information relevant to the game.   Usually this comes down to giving updates on injured players who have left the game.

 

The rest is garbage and part of the garbage way sports is televised in the USA.

 

 

[Mr. WEO]

8 minutes ago, eball said:

I don’t disagree with you but she should have presented it that way rather than boasting how she made up reports. Use the forum she has to talk about needed change. 
 

 

You think she's going to get on Pardon My Take to  complain that the networks only give lip service to women in journalism by dolling them up as sideline reporters to give 30 second spots of annoyed coaches saying nothing interesting?

 

yeah, I guess she could have done that instead.......

 

Here's a nugget for you and all those whining over this:

 

Thompson explained that she “made up a report” at the time (back in 2008):

 

“I was covering every Lions game because I was a baby reporter and got all the s— games and it was the year they were 0–16 and [Detroit coach] Rod Marinelli at halftime, I was like, ‘Oh Coach, what adjustments are you gonna make at halftime?’ He goes, ‘That’s a great perfume you’re wearing,'” Thompson said at the time. “I was like, ‘Oh f—, this isn’t gonna work.’ I’m not kidding; I made up a report.”

 

stop clutching the pearls, this woman is trying to teach you something...

Edited November 18, 2023 by Mr. WEO

[Doc]

Yes…

[BuffaloBillyG]

12 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

The entire concept of the "sideline reporter" should be done away with...unless it's an actual journalist who is only gathering real information relevant to the game.   Usually this comes down to giving updates on injured players who have left the game.

 

The rest is garbage and part of the garbage way sports is televised in the USA.

 

 

Originally, the sideline reporter concept was excellent. It was what you described and more. Most of the time it was former players that could give some insight to different aspects in real time. Injuries and such. Siragusa was excellent at it. Even Jay Feely was good...providing things we wouldn't fully get from a kickers POV (turf conditions, wind ect). Even back in the day, OJ was good at it. There really was a solid place for them.

 

I really hate to sound a certain way, however it seemed over time those positions were taken by unqualified "pretty faces" and it became more of a fluff piece position. 

[hondo in seattle]

When I was an officer in the army, I took an oath: "I will not lie, cheat, or steal; nor tolerate those who do."  

 

I had some reservations about taking that oath because I often lied when convenient.  I lied to my parents about why I was out late.  I lied to my college professors about why my term papers were late.  I had a weird personal rule that I would never lie to my inner circle of friends, but I'd lie to outsiders regularly without compunction.  

 

But I got to thinking that the world would be a better place if everyone practiced the Honor Code.  So I took the oath and, while I practice it imperfectly, I do take it seriously.

 

I don't care if Clarissa lies to her friends and family.  We're all flawed, and we all have our own code of ethics.  I won't judge.  But I do judge when she lies to me as a reporter I'm trusting to deliver the facts, not made up BS.  It's not okay.  

 

[SinceThe70s]

1 hour ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

Another woman journalist, commenting on this woman journalist has already conceded that NFL women journalists have been relegated to being "eye candy" i.e. "sideline reporters".   

 

All Clarissa Thompson has done is point out how phony this all is.  A token female prop tasked with eliciting inane BS form NFL HC's during games occasionally does not want to be bothered by the network's nod to the ladies who may be watching and refuses to talk, so the sideline reporter simply fills in the blanks on the HC's interview script.

 

again, good for her.  This is all just network cynicism being exposed.  Give these women  something real to do as reporters or spare us all this goofy display. 

 

So bring back Phyliis George?

[Punching Bag]

2 hours ago, hondo in seattle said:

When I was an officer in the army, I took an oath: "I will not lie, cheat, or steal; nor tolerate those who do."  

 

I had some reservations about taking that oath because I often lied when convenient.  I lied to my parents about why I was out late.  I lied to my college professors about why my term papers were late.  I had a weird personal rule that I would never lie to my inner circle of friends, but I'd lie to outsiders regularly without compunction.  

 

But I got to thinking that the world would be a better place if everyone practiced the Honor Code.  So I took the oath and, while I practice it imperfectly, I do take it seriously.

 

I don't care if Clarissa lies to her friends and family.  We're all flawed, and we all have our own code of ethics.  I won't judge.  But I do judge when she lies to me as a reporter I'm trusting to deliver the facts, not made up BS.  It's not okay.  

 

 

On a previous TS/SCI job I was instructed to lie where I worked for it was declared location and agency was classified.  The location was a known government facility and nothing prevented someone from observing cars driving into facility and recording license plates (there was a report on number of vehicles entering/leaving on a day by county agency and government denied all those people worked there).  We were instructed to lie where we worked to all but our family and the hundreds of people who worked for my company were supposed to be working at a small office several miles away.  We worked with other companies who had their own cover stories which were different.  

 

I had a friend from outside work who said lets meet for lunch for we work nearby each other but each time he asked I made a excuse for there was not enough time for me to leave facility, get to car, leave facility and get to restaurant and then after lunch return and find parking spot and go thru gates, etc to get back to work.  Work did not allow me to have a long lunch.   Eventually he told me "I know you are lying" and stopped calling me.

 

Later on I discovered reason for lie I was instructed to tell - it is because it saved the government money.  In lieu of taxes normally paid government did contribution to local jurisdiction based on number of declared people working there.  Because the companies working there had much smaller offices they also paid to jurisdiction lower property taxes.

 

I stopped telling people official lie and just told them I work at multiple locations locally and remotely.  This was something that not liked and I told them the lie were instructed to tell was full of holes.     Ironically when position was terminated I received a letter from agency in open mail thanking me for my service - an agency which was supposed to be secret.

[WhoTom]

23 minutes ago, Limeaid said:

I received a letter from agency in open mail thanking me for my service - an agency which was supposed to be secret.

 

So now that you've told us, do you have to kill us?