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Sports reporter Michele Tafoya passionately explains relatable reason she’s leaving NBC for GOP

February 17, 2022 | | Print Article

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Longtime former NBC Sports reporter Michele Tafoya, now co-chair of Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Kendall Qualls’ 2022 campaign as of Feb. 14th, revealed Wednesday that she wasn’t forced out from NBC — and that her departure was completely voluntary.

Speaking on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” she explained that her decision was rooted in an instinctive desire to make a difference and be heard.

“It’s been on my mind for quite awhile. And no, NBC did not encourage this. They did not force this. This has been on my mind. I’ve been waking up every day with a palpable pull at my gut that my side, my view, my middle ground kind of moderate viewpoint is not being represented to the rest of the world, I didn’t feel,” she said.

“And so rather than, you know, just banging it out on Twitter or Instagram every day, I thought I’ve got to do something. I have benefited greatly from the American dream, and I feel like, for the sake of my kids, and because I so love this country, I’ve got to start giving back.”

There has been speculation about NBC forcing her out because of what happened late last year, when, following a “controversial” appearance on “The View,” Tafoya suddenly went MIA from NBC Sports for a few weeks.

What made her appearance on “The View” controversial is that she readily challenged the show’s radically far-left hosts and, specifically, their support for the teaching of racial essentialism:

Tafoya described how students at her son’s school were divided into “affinity groups” based on race and how this segregation impacted her son’s relationship with what used to be his best friend.

“My son’s first best friend was a little African-American boy. They were inseparable. Get to a certain age, they start having what’s called an affinity group, which means you go for lunch and pizza with people who look like you,” she said.

She also slammed race hustler Colin Kaepernick’s notorious Netflix series in which he reportedly compares working in the NFL to being a slave.

These remarks provoked fierce backlash from “The View” co-host Whoopi Goldberg, who essentially made the case that the teaching of racial essentialism is necessary because racism in 21st century America is no different than racism back in the Jim Crow era. Thus, she argued, white people need “to step up” and take being demeaned.

Continuing the discussion on Fox News, host Tucker Carlson then asked Tafoya for her response to “The View” co-host’s divisive rhetoric.

“I’m just astonished that we’re so looking in the rearview mirror and not absorbing the progress that we’ve made in this country, and building on it, and recognizing it. You know, I don’t think a person like Whoopi Goldberg would have had that role 50 years ago. She has that now. I mean, you and I, Tucker, could come up with a million examples,” she replied.

“And it breaks my heart that my kids are being taught that skin color matters. And to me, if you want white people to step up, I was stepping up when I addressed the school and said, why are we having these picnics for families of color, why are we separating our kids? The world is integrated. Let’s continue that and have everyone find out what we all have in common, not just what we have in common with people who look like us.”

Carlson responded by speculating that 95 percent of Americans agree with her. But not included among this majority is the ruling class, who have for the most part completely embraced racial essentialism and called for the silencing of parents who dare object to their children being taught to be racist:

And so given the ruling class’s position on racial essentialism, Carlson was curious as to why Tafoya chose to make herself their target.

“To say that when you work at NBC Sports or any big media company really takes … I mean, you must have known that you would be attacked for defending the American ideal as you did. Why did you do that?” he asked.

Tafoya replied by stating quite bluntly that she didn’t give a damn if they attacked her. And she still doesn’t. The only thing she cares about is her family and kids.

“Because I don’t care if I’m attacked. I really am not afraid of that. And I guess I feel like so many people now are afraid, and I’m not. Listen, I know there are repercussions for whatever I choose to say,” she said.

“I’ve talked to my kid’s school about it. Please don’t hold this against my kids. I’m speaking for me, I’m speaking for my family. But please don’t hold this against my kids, but this is what i really believe.”

She added too that she suspects she’s speaking “for a lot of” other people who can’t afford to risk it all by taking a stand against the increasingly authoritarian ruling class.

“A lot of these people, my friends, are afraid to repost things that I’ve posted or, you know, get into political conversations. They’ve said it: I’m afraid, and I don’t want to get in these arguments with my friends, with my boss, with my colleagues. This is the most terrifying thing in the world to me right now, that people are afraid to talk,” she said.

“These are words coming out of our mouths. Yeah, we could probably hurt people with our words, I acknowledge that. But I get to choose my reaction to everybody’s words, and everybody else gets to choose their reaction to my words. So they can choose to react to what I say, and I’m going to choose to say what I believe and what I feel very strongly about.”

Vivek Saxena
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