A longtime NFL journalist is slamming a sideline reporter for her half-time talk with Ben Johnson.
Jason Whitlock has covered the NFL for decades with various media outlets, including ESPN and Fox. On his X account, Monday Whitlock blasted Kinkhabwala.
“Let’s all pretend like the real insanity isn’t some woman who knows NOTHING about football questioning a coach on the sideline during a game.”
“Let’s pretend Ben Johnson is the crazy person, not the crazy system that normalized the situation.”
The Bears were losing 14-9 to the Las Vegas Raiders at the half this past weekend. Her words to the first-year head coach may have struck a chord with Johnson and, in turn, his team. Chicagocame out strong in the second half, outscoring the Raiders 16-10, and ultimately won by a final score of 25-24.
Whitlock isn’t the only one siding with the former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator about the viral half-time chat. Jon Gruden, a former Super Bowl-winning head coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is also on Johnson’s side with this one.
“I’m always on the coach’s side. I’ve been the first to say I hate those sideline interviews,” the former coach said.
“For Ben Johnson to not take that microphone and slam it on the ground it’s a real credit to him,” Gruden added.
Before her move to CBS, Kinkhabwala contributed to the NFL Network for 10 years. She had also previously written for the Wall Street Journal and covered the New York Giants.
While some believe Kinkhabwala was out of line with her sideline chat, others felt that Johnson was being immature. Former NFL linebacker turned analyst Emmanuel Acho took the reporters side, saying nothing she said was out of line.
“A fair question. She didn’t tell him to change what he’s doing,” he said about her question to Johnson.
“It’s amazing how a bad captioning job can completely misrepresent what actually happened,” she responded.
She appeared recently on the Chicago radio show 670 The Score, saying she wished that she had:
“Been more specific on the follow-up,” to Johnson.
The veteran added that she and Johnson shared some lighthearted moments in the CBS production meeting before the game.
