Veteran sports journalist Michael Holley sparked concern Friday after suddenly fainting during a live broadcast of NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk.
The 56-year-old longtime Boston sports columnist and ESPN contributor was appearing remotely with host Mike Florio when the frightening moment unfolded on camera.
Holley had been discussing several NFL topics when he suddenly appeared dazed, slumped in his chair and slid out of view.
Florio immediately realized something was wrong.
“What happened to Michael Holley?” he asked the production crew. “Did he just pass out?”
The show quickly cut to a commercial break as producers attempted to find out what had happened and make sure Holley was okay.
Fortunately, Florio later confirmed that Holley recovered quickly and was doing fine.
Florio told Awful Announcing that Holley had been broadcasting from a studio inside his home, where conditions had become extremely warm.
According to Florio, Holley had also not eaten or had anything to drink before appearing on the show.
“He became overheated during the show and passed out,” Florio explained.
Florio said he did not initially notice anything was wrong because he had been looking directly into the camera rather than at his monitor.
Once he saw Holley slump over, the program immediately went to break so staff could determine whether he needed medical assistance.
“Fortunately, he recovered quickly and is fine,” Florio said.
Holley had been wearing a warmup-style jacket during the appearance and did not say anything before losing consciousness.
The scary on-air moment brought back memories of a similar incident involving NFL legend Bruce Smith, who collapsed during a live TNT broadcast in 2000.
Smith was standing when he suddenly lost consciousness. It was later revealed that the Hall of Famer had been suffering from the flu and dehydration.
Holley’s collapse looked alarming to viewers, but the good news came quickly: he recovered and was reportedly okay after the incident.
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