Popular NBC Sports reporter Michele Tafoya is turning in her microphone for a political playbook as she leaves broadcasting to join the campaign of Minnesota GOP gubernatorial candidate Kendall Qualls.
Tafoya went out at the top of her game, with her final assignment being Super Bowl LVI. On Monday, she told The Athletic that she has signed on to help the Army veteran and businessman win the office of Minnesota’s chief executive.
“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,” Tafoya said on Monday. “This is not to say that sports isn’t an important field, that my job isn’t an important job. But in my position, I was not as free to be as vocal about world events that I’m concerned about.”
SAMMAMISH, WA – JUNE 08: Michele Tafoya speaks during the KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit before the start of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at the Sahalee Country Club on June 8, 2016, in Sammamish, Washington. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images for KPMG)
Tafoya insisted that she felt stifled because politics is so polarized, and she was afraid her political ideas would become a distraction to NBC.
“It’s not because I was told to shut up,” she added. “I want to be very clear about that. But look, if you’re on a show like ‘Sunday Night Football,’ which is the No. 1 show in primetime for 11 straight years, unprecedented, the last thing they want to do is invite controversy.”
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 14: NBC “Sunday Night Football” sideline reporter Michele Tafoya speaks during a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on November 14, 2021, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Chiefs defeated the Raiders 41-14. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Tafoya also noted that she will attend the conservative CPAC convention held in Orlando, Florida, later this month.
Still, Tafoya didn’t accept the label of being a Republican. Instead, she told The Atlantic that she is more libertarian than strictly a Republican.
“I would go a little more in that direction,” Tafoya explained. “I’m most conservative when it comes to I prefer a smaller government, and I’d prefer a lot less of our tax dollars being spent the way that they are.”
“But I remain pro-choice,” she continued. “In a lot of ways, I think there are a lot of choices that should be left up to individuals and not instituted or not forced upon us by a government that we elect unless we elect them because we want them to make that choice for us. I just don’t think government is about making choices for us in our personal lives. I really don’t. So, if that clears it up, then I think it’s probably libertarian.”
Tafoya’s political leanings are no surprise to fans. She raised the ire of the left when as a guest host for ABC’s The View in November, she was heard criticizing the legacy of former NFL player Colin Kaepernick.
After her appearance, though, Tafoya suddenly disappeared from NBC’s sports coverage for several weeks. As far as former ESPN analyst and podcaster Bill Simmons was concerned, NBC was punishing her for daring to be a conservative on TV.
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