In the midst of the criticism Charisa Thompson has faced since acknowledging that she made up stories while working as a sideline reporter, Kelly Stafford has sprung to her support.
Thompson’s disclosure has drawn criticism from other female reporters, many of whom have questioned her morality. Erin Andrews admitted to have done the same, so in a way supported Charissa.
Kelly, the spouse of Matthew Stafford, the quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams, has turned to social media to defend the sportscaster and take aim at her detractors. She wrote on Instagram,
“Wish I could tag all the people that need to hear this. Instead I’ll leave it here in hopes it reaches them,” The post was
“A man makes a mistake or has his words taken out of context, his male colleagues/friends band together and support one another,” the photo read. “A woman does the same thing, their female colleagues/fake friends do the opposite. Feels like some ‘feminists’ seem to only choose to feminists when it supports their agenda.”
Since then, Thompson has retracted her comments, saying that she used information that was in front of her for her sideline delivery rather than really fabricating any facts.
“I have never lied about anything or been unethical during my time as a sports broadcaster,” she explained.
“In the absence of a coach providing any information that could further my report I would use information that I learned and saw during the first half to create my report… In these instances I never attributed anything I said to a player or coach.”
