Charissa Thompson’s jaw dropped when Erin Andrews recalled breaking down in tears after a Tampa Bay Buccaneers player was “so nasty” to her early on in her career.
Andrews, a veteran sideline reporter for Fox, recalled the moment while taking fan questions during the latest installment of her and Thompson’s “Calm Down” podcast Friday.
When a listener asked if the media personalities have ever “cried at work,” Andrews said: “Yeah, this has happened to me” at 19 or 20 years old.
“I was working freelance for an Orlando station and they wanted sound from the Bucs locker room,” she said. “A particular player was so nasty to me.
“He physically turned his back away from me in the middle of his scrum. He also told me to go back, rehearse my question and come back when I was ready. I was mortified.
“I was 19, 20 years old. I had practiced. I did slip up a little bit, I stumbled. He knew it. He knew I was young.
“I instantly started having tears come down my face, and two players in particular, Derrick Brooks and John Lynch, saw it, pulled me over, and said, ‘What do you need?’ — Royalty!”
Thompson was shocked.
“That’s incredible,” she said. “I never heard you tell that story. Wow.”
Andrews, 45, did not the name player on the Buccaneers who was “so nasty” to her.
Thompson, who praised the two Tampa players that helped Andrews, said she has “cried a couple times in front of boss’ over the years.”
Andrews “quietly” re-signed with Fox on a three-year deal in July 2022, after her longtime colleagues Joe Buck and Troy Aikman left the network for ESPN.
Thompson is a host at Fox Sports, as well as the host of Thursday Night Football” on Prime Video.
