The spokesperson for Fox Sports NFL sideline reporter Erin Andrews has clarified her client’s previous comment about using fabricated information in her on-air reporting in the aftermath of the uproar regarding Charissa Thompson’s recent admission about the same practice.
Nearly two years ago, during an episode of Andrews’s and Thompson’s Calm Down podcast, Andrews told Thompson that she fabricated information once before as a sideline reporter. Now, after seeing the backlash from Thompson’s confession, Andrews spokeswoman Jill Fritzo is attempting to clear up any notion of misconduct by her client.
“For her entire career, Erin Andrews has worked very closely with coaches, players and P.R. staffs to ensure accuracy in her reporting,” Fritzo told The New York Times.
In a recent interview on the Pardon My Take podcast, Thompson revealed that she would sometimes “make up a report” because coaches “wouldn’t come out at halftime or it was too late” to get fresh information.
“I didn’t want to screw up the report, so I was like, ‘I’m just gonna make this up,’” Thompson said on the podcast. “Because, first of all, no coach is gonna get mad if I say, ‘Hey, we need to stop hurting ourselves; we need to be better on third down; we need to stop turning the ball over … and do a better job of getting off the field.’ Like, they’re not gonna correct me on that.”
Andrews has been with Fox Sports since 2012 and serves as the network’s lead sideline reporter.