Charissa Thompson

You might have heard sideline reporter Charissa Thompson admitted on a podcast that sometimes she flat out made up reports about what coaches said at halftime because often coaches had no interest in speaking to her during a game.

There was a predictable outcry from the pearl clutchers:

Some midwits even tried to bring race into it!

My take is you should have a code of journalistic ethics when you are journalist — so many for the last 10 years did not when the stakes were infinity higher — and none of these Karens made a peep. Were they calling out Rachel Maddow for lying about the efficacy of the mRNA shot? Any blowback for Mina Kimes after unjustly impugning Aaron Rodgers’ character while it was she who was utterly misinformed?

But Thompson was doing a bullshit job that only exists because network execs and league officals thought it would be a good idea to have coaches use some of their scarce time between halves to speak, against their will, on camera. So they mouth inane truisms that add nothing of value.

To her credit, Thompson knew this was the case and just supplied the truisms for them which was a win/win. Now the coach could focus on second-half prep, and she was spared the unpleasant task of wringing something out of them. Neither the audience nor the executives were any the wiser.

If you have a real job, do it earnestly and with integrity. But when you see something is obviously fake and stupid, go ahead and break the rules. Those feigning outrage on account of their trust being broken sound ridiculous. You really put stock in Coach X saying: “we need to tackle better and take care of the ball?”