Michele Tafoya's time on the NFL sidelines may be coming to an end. According to the New York Post, the Edina-based reporter's role on NBC's "Sunday Night Football" will be changing after the network airs Super Bowl LVI in February 2022.
Michele Tafoya may be leaving 'Sunday Night Football' sidelines
A report says the Minnesota-based reporter's days at NBC are numbered.
December 17, 2021 at 2:16PM
Tafoya, who previously covered the NFL for ABC and ESPN, could not be reached for comment.
The Emmy winner is scheduled to be part of "Sunday Night" coverage this weekend after being on a three-week break. The network says she also will be off for the Jan. 2 showdown between the Vikings and Packers in Green Bay. NBC has described her time off as "bye weeks" granted to all announcers.
Tafoya triggered some controversy last month when she pushed back against critical race theory and defended anti-vaxxers while co-hosting "The View" on ABC. She told a story about a relative who didn't want to get a shot because he had already survived the virus and that his immunity was stronger than any vaccine.
When co-host Joy Behar argued that there was no way of knowing how long his immunity would last, Tafoya responded: "Well, neither do we with the shots. We really don't. For the time being, can't he just get tested? Can't we just get tested?"
NBC has said that Tafoya selected the four weeks she wanted off long before her two "View" appearances in early November.
"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," an NBC spokesperson told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "Any other speculation about her time off is blatantly false."
Tafoya has resided in Minnesota since 1993 when she took a job at KFAN radio. In March 2020, she gave up co-hosting KQRS' popular "Tom Barnard Show" after a four-year stint.
At the time, Tafoya said she wanted to spend more time in the morning with her kids, who were 14 and 11 at the time.
"I do the show from my house and I can hear them in the kitchen laughing with their dad," she told the Star Tribune. "It's a reminder that I'm missing so much."
Tafoya's previous roles include covering the Timberwolves and hosting a show on WCCO radio. She was profiled in a 2017 Star Tribune magazine story.
Critics’ picks for entertainment in the week ahead.
