Fox Sports NFL reporter Erin Andrews took aim at her colleagues for their treatment of athletes.
Andrews made the criticism Thursday during an episode of the “Calm Down” podcast with her co-host and Fox Sports colleague Charissa Thompson.
Offering her colleagues advice, Andrews said, “You don’t have to be an a**hole. How about this, stop worrying about trying to make a name for yourself, or be clickbait with these questions that tie these guys down or put them in a bind, or you want to be the guy in the press conference. Don’t do that.”
She added, “They’re not animals. They’re not pieces of meat. Yes, I realize they’re the story.”
Andrews reflected on her time covering athletes on the field.
“I have guys that run right past me on the field, even if they’re my good friend, and I’m like, ‘Hello, you just threw for 432 yards. Why are you running past me?’” Andrews said.
She explained, “Sh*t is going on in their lives. They’ve got stuff going on that they’ll text you about later and apologize.”
The reporter acknowledged there are “people out there, they want to make a name for themselves, reporters, and I know they kinda want to stick out, but you do stick out in a really bad way when you treat these guys like sh*t.”
Andrews recognized there are things she can improve on and advised reporters to treat athletes as individuals.
“It will take you so far, and they will remember that than the bullsh*t, rude ass questions because you need to write your little bit on a blog or your hit for some network that you’re on,” Andrews said.
She added, “Don’t treat them like sh*t, it’s not going to help you because, guess what, I know you’re not a professional athlete, but things go on in your job where you get treated like crap, and you don’t like the feeling.”
Listen to the episode below:
The podcast included a note saying the episode was recorded prior to the incident involving NFL player Damar Hamlin during a game on Monday night.
Dr. Timothy Pritts, division chief of general surgery at University of Cincinnati Medical Center, spoke out about Hamlin’s condition Thursday after he collapsed on the field.
“There’s been substantial improvement in his condition over the past 24 hours,” Pritts said.
He added, “We had significant concern about him after the injury and after the event that happened on the field, but he’s making substantial progress.”
Pritts explained, “As of this morning, he is beginning to awaken, and it appears that his neurological condition and function is intact. He continues to be critically ill and continues to undergo intensive care in our surgical and trauma ICU.”
Pritts was also asked about the cause of Hamlin’s cardiac arrest.
“The answer to that is that that workup is ongoing. We do not have definitive answers as to the etiology of the arrest, and tests will continues to progress,” Pritts said.