Erin Andrews and Charissa Thompson Make up Sideline Reports to Protect NFL Coaches: ‘He Was Telling Me All The Wrong Stuff’

Sideline reporters have a tough gig, they’re tasked with getting information out of players and coaches who are often doing their best to avoid saying anything of note.

A few are willing to give a good quote, but according to veteran sideline reporters Erin Andrews and Charissa Thompson, they’re sometimes forced to invent a report to cover for an inane interviewee.

Thompson’s first NFL season as a sideline reporter for Fox was 2008, the year the Detroit Lions went 0-16. Because she was the low reporter on the totem pole, Thompson was often tasked with covering the Lions and asking head coach Rod Marinelli about the putrid team.

“I was like ‘oh coach what adjustments are you gonna make at halftime?’ He goes, ‘that’s a great perfume you’re wearing.’ I was like ‘oh f*ck, this isn’t gonna work.’ I’m not kidding, I made up a report,” Thompson said on the latest episode of Calm Down with Erin and Charissa.

“I’ve done that too,” Andrews jumped in. “For a coach that I didn’t wanna throw under the bus because he was telling me all the wrong stuff!”

Aaron Rodgers should love to hear that. The Green Bay Packers quarterback has spent most of the current NFL season blasting the media for fake news. Now he knows his friend Erin Andrews definitely makes up an occasional report. Albeit it’s likely about a team’s defense and not a player’s Covid toe.

For a player or coach, just know if you say the wrong thing to a reporter, they might make up a story about the conversation. But as a fan, give me all the misinformation and creepy attempts at a compliment.

Listen above via Calm Down with Erin Charissa