Carissa Thompson’s jaw dropped when she recalled how Erin Andrews broke down in tears after a Tampa Bay Buccaneers player was “very mean” to her early in her career.
Andrews, a veteran sideline reporter for Fox, recalled when she and Thompson were answering fan questions on the latest episode. Podcast “Calm down” Friday.
When The Listener asked media personalities if they had ever cried at work, Andrews replied, “Yeah, that happened to me too,” when she was 19 or 20.
“I was working as a freelancer for a broadcast station in Orlando, and they wanted sound from the Bucks’ locker room,” she said. “One player was really mean to me.
“He physically turned away from me in the middle of the scrum. He also told me to go back and rehearse the questions and come back when I was ready. It was mortifying.
“I was 19, 20 years old. I was practicing. I slipped a little bit and tripped. He knew that. He knew I was young.
“I immediately started crying, and two players in particular, Derrick Brooks and John Lynch, saw it and pulled me to their feet and said, ‘What do you need?'” -Royalty! ”
Thompson was shocked.
“It’s unbelievable,” she said. “I’ve never heard you talk about that. Oh.”
Andrews, 45, wasn’t a big-name Buccaneers player that she “really dislikes.”
Thompson praised two Tampa players for helping Andrews, saying, “I’ve cried in front of the coach a few times over the last few years.”
Andrews “secretly” re-signed with Fox on a three-year deal in July 2022 after longtime colleagues Joe Buck and Troy Aikman left the network for ESPN.
Thompson is a host on Fox Sports and host of Prime Video’s “Thursday Night Football.”
