Edited by: TJVNews.com
The name Michele Tafoya has been synonymous for quite some time with being an NFL sideline reporter for NBC. That has all changed, however. On Monday, she announced that she will serve as co-chair of Republican Kendall Qualls’s gubernatorial bid in Minnesota.
Tafoya did her final NFL game Sunday at the Super Bowl and said it was her “decision” top step away from reporting and move into politics. Qualls is a businessman and Army veteran in Minnesota, according to an MSN report.
Tafoya will also participate in the Conservative Political Action Conference, according to a report from The Athletic. The conference is scheduled for late February, as was reported by MSN.
Tafoya had intended to leave her sports broadcasting job in the aftermath of the 2019 NFL season but was requested to stay on NBC until after Super Bowl LVI. MSN reported that her close friend Fred Gaudelli asked her to remain in her position Guadelli is the executive producer of “Sunday Night Football.”
Newsmax reported that in January, NBC officially announced that Tafoya would be leaving her role as sideline reporter following the Super Bowl after working for NBC Sports for a decade. Speaking with The Athletic Monday, Tafoya said it was her decision to leave.
“This is all my decision. Everyone at NBC will back me up on that. They have always told me I can stay as long as I want. For me, I have to make my move while I’ve still got the energy to do other things and have an impact. I don’t want to wait,” she said.
“I got to a point in my life where I wanted to try other things, and there are some things that are really important to me,” she added. “But in my position, I was not as free to be as vocal about world events that I’m concerned about.”
Tafoya also teased a possible future political run during the interview.
“I’ll say this — I’ve been asked multiple times to run for office in Minnesota…. But I just don’t know yet,” she said. “Not at the moment. I will say not at the moment. A lot will depend on what transpires here over the next year.”
“This is all my decision,” Tafoya said to The Athletic. “Everyone at NBC will back me up on that. They have always told me I can stay as long as I want. For me, I have to make my move while I’ve still got the energy to do other things and have an impact. I don’t want to wait.”
“I got to a point in my life where I wanted to try other things, and there are some things that are really important to me,” she added. “But in my position, I was not as free to be as vocal about world events that I’m concerned about.”
Newsmax reported that Tafoya also teased a possible future political run during the interview.
“I’ll say this — I’ve been asked multiple times to run for office in Minnesota…. But I just don’t know yet,” she said. “Not at the moment. I will say not at the moment. A lot will depend on what transpires here over the next year.”
MSN reported that in her interview with The Athletic, Tafoya, (who has worked more than 320 NFL games as a sideline reporter, including five Super Bowls) added that she wanted to be clear that the decision to move into politics was “not because I was told to shut up” but for a show like “Sunday Night Football” that has been the top prime-time show for more than a decade, “the last thing they want to do is invite controversy.”
