A scary scene unfolded on Aug. 14 on PFT Live when co-host Michael Holley became overheated and fainted on camera.
One week later, Holley returned to the show with co-host Mike Florio. Holley explained what happened and offered an update on how he’s doing now.
“What a week, Mike,” Holley said to Florio. “What a moment. I gotta tell you. You handled yourself great. Thank you for talking with [producer Kristen Coleman], because what you guys don’t know… When I went down, one thing I did have, one thing that didn’t go down, was my IFB. So, my IFB was in my ear. And I could hear this conversation. ‘Hey, does somebody have Holley’s wife’s number?’ And I heard something about emergency services. I said, ‘Who are you talking about? Oh, they’re talking about me.'”
“And then I was on the floor… And I’m telling you, this is so ridiculous. This is a ridiculous part of our business,” Holley continued. “My first thought was, ‘That’s going on the internet.’ And my second thought was, ‘Well, now, look.’ And I saw, I think at that point it was 8:42, 8:43, something like that. I said, ‘Well, 17 minutes left in the show. Let me just put the microphone back up here. I’ll sit down. I’ll finish the show.’
“And I try to do that, and you guys are like, ‘Are you nuts? Get out of here. Get yourself some help.’ Thank you for continuing to talk, continuing to talk through it, really. I think it brought me back a little earlier than maybe I would have. But, in all seriousness, people, I mean, it was scary. It was a scary situation.”
Holley received five stitches in his knee from the fall, but he’s doing fine.
“Everything’s checked out,” Holley explained. “Everything’s fine. I’m medically fine. I just want to put that out there. But also, people were great. Not just people who we work with, Mike. I heard from people I haven’t heard from in 10 years, 15 years; childhood friends, high school friends, college friends. Neighbors, business people, fans coming up and just offering words of encouragement, making sure that I’m okay. So, thank you for all the messages and all the nice gestures. It has been overwhelming.
“How about this? There was a guy who came up to me, and I said, ‘Oh, this is what it’s going to be now. A guy who came up to me; we’re on Martha’s Vineyard now… And a guy came up to me and said, ‘Hey, I was coming over on the boat, and I saw on YouTube. Are you the guy? Are you the guy who passed out on TV?’ I said, ‘Wow, a whole career, and that’s what it is. I’m now the guy who passed out on TV.’ So, I’ll take it.”
“I’ll be totally honest with you, Mike- I haven’t watched it,” Holley added. “I’m not ready to watch it yet. I have not watched it.”
It’s just great to hear that Holley is doing well, and it’s good to have him back in action on PFT Live.
Along with his work on PFT Live, Holley has long been known for his work as a sports reporter and columnist for outlets such as the Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, and Akron Beacon Journal. He was also a frequent panelist in the early years of the former ESPN show, Around the Horn.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at Awful Announcing and The Comeback.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@awfulannouncing.com.