NBC Sports reporter Michele Tafoya will not return to the NFL sidelines after this season, according to The New York Post.
The 56-year-old sideline reporter for NBC’s primetime Sunday Night Football broadcasts has decided to walk away after this year ends, sources told the Post. Tafoya has missed the last three games, which NBC has described as “bye weeks,” but is expected back on the field this coming Sunday.
Speculation has arisen in recent days that Tafoya’s notable absence from NFL sidelines is related to her headline-making stint as the token conservative guest host for The View last month. During one combative segment on the popular daytime talk show, Tafoya taunted the audience to “bring it on” after they groaned her criticism of former NFL star-turned-activist Colin Kaepernick.
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Tafoya, however, would appear back on the sidelines immediately after her View appearance, working the rest of November before eventually taking off after Thanksgiving.
While NBC declined to comment specifically on Tafoya’s status after this season, an NBC Sports spokesperson pushed back against the notion that her View appearance contributed to her recent absence.
“Michele will be back on the sidelines this weekend. As we have done repeatedly, we’re again giving our announcers bye weeks in 2021, and we plan to do it well into the future,” the spokesperson told The Daily Beast. “Michele’s off weeks—which were determined prior to the season—were all in cold weather cities after Thanksgiving, and her final weekend off this season comes on Jan. 2 in Green Bay. Any other speculation about her time off is blatantly false.”
While no replacement for Tafoya has been officially announced, the most likely candidate will be Kathryn Tappen, who has filled in for Tafoya these past three weeks.
Tafoya’s departure isn’t the only significant change to potentially hit the Sunday Night Football broadcast. Al Michaels, who calls the game with analyst Cris Collinsworth, could be heading over to Thursday Night Football when Amazon takes over the weeknight game next season. If he jumps ship, Mike Tirico is expected to take over for him on Sundays.
