Young women just beginning careers in sports journalism asked one another in group chats if the kind of practice Ms. Thompson was describing was OK.
Veteran journalists who have held prominent sideline reporting roles said they carefully crafted statements to post on social media, their impulse to defend their profession overriding their reluctance to criticize another woman.
It is a role that centers on establishing trust with both the teams and leagues being covered and with the viewing audience.
It is dismissed by some viewers, who say the questions asked of players and coaches are often banal, leading to generic answers.
And for female sideline reporters, that disrespect can often be coupled with the sexist trope that the most important thing they can do on air is look good.
Persons:
Charissa Thompson, Young, Thompson, Andrea Kremer
Locations:
N.F.L