Erin Andrews Recalls Unpleasant Interview With Buccaneers Player Early In Her Career: 'I Was Mortified'

Some NFL football players can be nasty individuals. Just ask Erin Andrews.

The Fox Sports sideline reporter shared a story from early in her journalism career on the "Calm Down with Erin and Charissa" podcast (co-hosted by Charissa Thompson). In this episode, she fielded a question from a listener about whether she had ever cried on the job.

Andrews is one of the most respected people in all of sports journalism, and a standard of poise in key moments. Her ability to remain composed next to a screaming Richard Sherman in the 2013 NFC Championship Game proved that.

But Andrews didn’t automatically reach that level of excellence, she had to grow into it. Early in her career, she found herself in a situation that did indeed make her cry.

Andrews shared a story about a time when she was working freelance for a news station in Orlando when she was roughly 19-years-old. The company wanted her to get some interviews from the Buccaneers' locker room, a fairly simple task.

But what made it more complicated was that one player shunned Andrews and treated her rather poorly. While she didn’t say who it was, he nonetheless left quite a (negative) impression on Andrews.

Interviewing the NFL's biggest stars was't always smooth sailing for Andrews (left). (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)

"A particular player was so nasty to me," Andrew said. "He physically turned his back away from me in the middle of his scrum. He also told me to go back, rehearse my question, and come back when I was ready. I was mortified."  

She did note that she stumbled over her question even after practicing. Even so, the situation caused her to cry.

Fortunately, some other players in the locker came to Andrews’ aid and helped her through that terrible interaction.

"I instantly started having tears come down my face, and two players in particular, Derrick Brooks and John Lynch, saw it, pulled me over, and said, ‘What do you need?’"

Honestly, if you treat Erin Andrews poorly, you’re the problem. 

It's a good thing she did not let this derail her confidence as she stepped onto the field, and that Brooks and Lynch stepped in when they did. If they had not said anything, who knows if Andrews would have become the incredible sports reporter we know today?