NBC Sports says “Sunday Night Football” sideline reporter Michele Tafoya has been off the air for three weeks due to prescheduled time off. But Bill Simmons isn’t buying it.
On his podcast this week, the former Boston Sports Guy says he thinks the longtime broadcaster is being reprimanded for spouting conservative opinions on “The View” when she filled in last month. Tafoya, who’s worked on SNF for 10 years, compared COVID-19 to the flu and expressed skepticism that Colin Kaepernick was blackballed from the NFL due to his protests about racial injustice.
“There’s some good conspiracy stuff going on about this,” Simmons said, via the NY Post. “Because she hosted ‘The View’ in the beginning of November. She was in the conservative seat, then a couple weeks later, all of a sudden, just on a bye. Taking a break.”
SNF broadcasters Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth have taken a couple of games off in recent seasons; however, they’ve never been absent for more than one at a time. Former NESN anchor Kathryn Tappen has been filling in for Tafoya.
“It would be one thing if the show was on 52 weeks a year, but it’s only on 17 weeks a year. Do you need three weeks off during a 17-week season?,” Simmons asked.
On “The View,” Tafoya theorized Kaepernick may not actually want to return to the NFL. “I know my stuff too, on this. A lot of teams tried him out,” Tafoya said. “He’s the leader of a movement. He’s got a Netflix series, he’s got a Nike endorsement.”
It’s worth noting that Tafoya did a few SNF dates immediately following her “View” appearance. Her hiatus began after Thanksgiving and has carried over into December. An NBC spokesperson says she’ll be back on the field this week.
The New York Post’s Andrew Marchand reports Tafoya will leave SNF after this season.
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