Report: Reporter Michele Tafoya leaving 'Sunday Night Football' sidelines after this season
Veteran sideline reporter Michele Tafoya will not return to NBC's "Sunday Night Football" after this season is over, according to a report in the New York Post.
Tafoya, 56, has been absent from the network's last three broadcasts, which NBC officials have called "bye weeks." However, those weeks off have come since she appeared on "The View" in early November, when she compared COVID-19 to the flu, saying the flu "kills people."
Tafoya's last appearance on the sidelines was NBC's Thanksgiving Day game between the Buffalo Bills and New Orleans Saints. She is also scheduled to be off Jan. 2, when the Packers play the Vikings.
According to the Post, NBC has not decided who will replace Tafoya on "SNF," although Kathryn Tappen – who has served as Tafoya's replacement while she's been off – is seen as the leading candidate.
NBC has the rights to this season's Super Bowl on Feb. 13, which would most likely be Tafoya's final broadcast.