Just yesterday, sideline football reporter Charissa Thompson sent the internet into a frenzy, after admitting on the Pardon My Take podcast that she’s fabricated sideline reports in the past.
She told Barstool’s Dan Katz and PFT Commenter:
“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,’ because first of all, no coach is gonna get mad if I say, ‘Hey, we need to stop hurting ourselves, we need to stop turning the ball over and do a better job of getting off the field.’ They’re not gonna correct me on that. So, I’m like, it’s fine, I’ll just make up the report.”
Needless to say, Thompson basically destroyed her credibility as a sideline reporter, and while she is a host now and her days of sideline reporting are behind her, the admission left many of her colleagues furious. She offered up some clarification this morning, and it seems like these fabrications were a long time ago, but it’s still a shocking admission nonetheless, one that erodes the integrity of sideline reporting as a whole.
That being said, I’ve been enjoying scrolling through Twitter and watching the dumpster fire Thompson started with this one. That’s when I came across this hilarious video of comedian Bill Burr back in the day, when he made an appearance on Conan.
A while back when ol’ Bill still had some hair, he offered up his take on sideline reporters, and why sports need to just do away with them, telling Conan O’Brien:
“I don’t like how the interview coaches too when they go into halftime… I think they (coaches) should be able to stay focused on the game. They shouldn’t have to talk to somebody in a ski parka, ‘yeah you know you’re down by 14 what’re your thoughts?’
What do you think my thoughts are, it sucks! I’m worried about my job, I’m probably gonna have to sale my house, my wife’s gonna leave me, I’m gonna need to score more points in the other half.
Who are you? Why am I talking to you? You’re not even in football. Did you even play to the high school level? You took journalism! Get outta here! It’s a bunch of nerds interrupting people that know what they’re doing.”
No surprise this clip is going viral once again right now, but you can always count on Bill Burr to tell you like it is… you know, unless his wife won’t let him… zing. Sorry, Bill… had to do it.
Check it out:
