NFL reporter suffers terrifying health emergency live on air as network immediately cuts to commercial

Michael Holley, the long-time Boston Globe sports columnist and ESPN contributor, fainted during a live broadcast of NBC Sports' Pro Football Talk on Friday.

The 56-year-old appeared via satellite to speak with host Mike Florio about a number of NFL topics, but the show was forced to cut to commercial when a wide-eyed Holley slid out of his chair and onto the floor.

'What happened to Michael Holley?' Florio asked his production crew. 'Did he just pass out? Let's go ahead and take a break here. We want to see what's going on with Michael Holley and we'll continue the conversation on PFT Live right after this.'

Florio has since updated his audience in a statement, explaining that Holley is doing fine.

'Michael was in the studio at his home,' Florio told Awful Announcing. 'It's very warm in there. He hadn't had anything to eat or drink before the show. He became overheated during the show and passed out.

'I didn't notice until he slumped in his seat, because I was looking at the camera, not the monitor. We went to break right away to try to get him assistance, if he needed it. Fortunately, he recovered quickly and is fine.'

Television studios are often kept at low temperatures because they can quickly become very hot when the production lighting has been on for even a few minutes. Holley, who was wearing a warmup jacket, did not say a word as he faded in front of the cameras.

The situation was eerily similar to another incident in which NFL great Bruce Smith passed out during a live 2000 TNT broadcast – only in Smith's case, he was actually standing when he lost consciousness.

It was later revealed that Smith had been battling the flu and dehydration before the broadcast.