Locker room privacy ??

[DrDawkinstein]

Doesn't anyone else care that this is the same "network" that sent a reporter into the locker room in a wedding dress to propose to Tom Brady and then jump in his arms? This was a publicity stunt and yes, she asked for it because that is what her producers wanted. I work in TV so I know that this is exactly the kind of thing they were hoping would happen.

 

I'll leave the name calling alone because it doesn't add anything to the conversation that I thought we were having.

 

 

dummy, how is it a publicity stunt when IT WASNT HER WHO STARTED ANY OF THIS?!? she didnt complain, she has stated she is embarrassed about the entire thing, she was surprised it got this blown out of proportion.

 

watch the videos in the espn story i linked and stop making yourself look like a bigger ahole with every post.

Edited September 15, 2010 by DrDankenstein

[BRH]

I work in TV so I know that this is exactly the kind of thing they were hoping would happen.

Ah yes, the old "I work in XYZ Profession so I know everything about it" argument.

[DrDawkinstein]

Ah yes, the old "I work in XYZ Profession so I know everything about it" argument.

 

given the intellectual level and quality of most TV programming, this doesnt surprise me at all...

[BRH]

This was a publicity stunt and yes, she asked for it because that is what her producers wanted.

SHE asked for it because her producers made her do it?

[SwampD]

because he didnt put 100% of the responsibility on the men in the situation. according to the pundits, she could have walked in with only a g-string and pasties, and the jets were expected not to notice.

Now that's funny.

[shrader]

Until the day where physical appearance doesn't factor in on the hiring of any single reporter in this country, male or female (in other words: NEVER), this issue won't go away.

[Stl Bills]

Are male reporters allowed into WNBA or women's college or professional soccer teams' locker rooms?

How are male reporters in WNBA locker rooms relative in this discussion? I think the issue is Reporters of the opposite sex being in the locker rooms.

Edited September 15, 2010 by Stl Bills

[papazoid]

So....was it because he said "packages"?.

 

It sounded to me like he basically said, their doing a job and can't act on it, but a straight woman in a room with 53 naked athletes is going to be attracted to at least one of them. I'm still trying to find the source of the outrage.

 

"all of the sudden you see a nice woman in the locker room, I think men are going to tend to turn and look and want to say something to that woman". (i took his comments to mean....that it's natural for guys to "say something" ...cat calls, whistling and harrassing comments included... is normal and to be expected).

 

"And I mean, you put a woman and you give her a choice of 53 athletes, somebody got to be appealing to her. You know, somebody got to spark her interest, or she’s gonna want somebody. I don’t know what kind of woman won’t, if you get to go and look at 53 men’s packages.".......(which says a women reporter is incapable of acting in a strictly professional businesslike manner going about her profession in a locker room just like her male counterparts).

[Rob's House]

Until the day where physical appearance doesn't factor in on the hiring of any single reporter in this country, male or female (in other words: NEVER), this issue won't go away.

I know it's a little off topic, but that reminds me of the Andrea Kremer fiasco about 10 yrs ago. For those that don't remember, Andrea got old and lost her looks so they looked to replace her with a cute side line info-babe. Andrea became insensed that her looks would be a factor because, of course, her looks didn't impact her ability to do sideline interviews, which is what she incorrectly thought her job was. Her job was to help ratings.

 

She didn't find it so offensive when she got the job for being nice to look at, but once the looks faded she conveniently found herself a set of principles.

 

"all of the sudden you see a nice woman in the locker room, I think men are going to tend to turn and look and want to say something to that woman". (i took his comments to mean....that it's natural for guys to "say something" ...cat calls, whistling and harrassing comments included... is normal and to be expected).

 

"And I mean, you put a woman and you give her a choice of 53 athletes, somebody got to be appealing to her. You know, somebody got to spark her interest, or she’s gonna want somebody. I don’t know what kind of woman won’t, if you get to go and look at 53 men’s packages.".......(which says a women reporter is incapable of acting in a strictly professional businesslike manner going about her profession in a locker room just like her male counterparts).

People need to lighten up

[evilbuffalobob]

I get really sick and tired of society expecting people to be perfect. I do not support this brainwashing and stripping of perergative called 'political correctness'. There's a place where the sun don't shine for these views. Men should be men, and we should never loose our boy-like youth. Have fun.

 

I think Inaez got exactly what she deserved. Sports reporters are welcome on the sideline, in the booth, and in a conference room, not in the locker room... that's private.

[SwampD]

 

 

People need to lighten up

But then they would have no reason to call people ignorant and douchebags and dummies, and .....

[The Dean]

I get really sick and tired of society expecting people to be perfect. I do not support this brainwashing and stripping of perergative called 'political correctness'. There's a place where the sun don't shine for these views. Men should be men, and we should never loose our boy-like youth. Have fun.

 

I think Inaez got exactly what she deserved. Sports reporters are welcome on the sideline, in the booth, and in a conference room, not in the locker room... that's private.

 

 

You are confusing "boy like youth" with adolescent stupidity. And the locker room was NOT private. That's the point. It should be, IMO, but it isn't. I guess you think it's too much to ask grown men to act respectably for a few minutes. Pathetic!

[shrader]

You are confusing "boy like youth" with adolescent stupidity. And the locker room was NOT private. That's the point. It should be, IMO, but it isn't. I guess you think it's too much to ask grown men to act respectably for a few minutes. Pathetic!

 

I'm a little confused on where exactly the line is for things like this though. The reporter doesn't seem to care at all, but the players' actions offended someone else who wasn't even involved. Is it even possible for someone to do something that won't offend a single person on the face of the earth?

[The Dean]

I'm a little confused on where exactly the line is for things like this though. The reporter doesn't seem to care at all, but the players' actions offended someone else who wasn't even involved. Is it even possible for someone to do something that won't offend a single person on the face of the earth?

 

 

No, you are right about that. I wasn't referring specifically to the most recent incident in my comments, but to the topic in general. The best approach, IMO, by BOTH sides is to keep it professional. Might there be a joke that will offend? Of course. But those situations should be rare and happen irrespective of the reporter's or athlete's sex. I was really talking about sexual remarks and/or innuendo in the locker room between reporters and athletes.

 

As to the Sainz, it doesn't matter if she's wearing tight jeans. That is professional dress for her occupation at her network, believe it or not. I can understand if she wasn't offended, or prefers to not make that complaint given her job. But if others noticed it, and it was fairly obvious/blatant, it's probably best addressed before something happens that is even more obviously offensive. It's best to nip this stuff at the bud (so to speak), IMO.

[Mr. WEO]

thanks once again Mr. Happy for having a true insight into how we, as reporters, do our jobs. the next time you have an issue in your line of profession, please feel free to contact me so that i can offer up my extensive knowledge on that front in a quid pro quo.

 

jw

Come on jw, we all watch TV. We see the mics jammed in front of the athletes face at his locker as he says "we didn't give 110% today", We were beaten by the better team tonight", "we've got a lot of work to do", "these guys really played great tonight", "we're not going to linger on this (win/loss), we're looking forward to playing (insert opponent) next week".

 

What are we missing? What's the deep background we need to interpret these profound nuggets?

 

I'm quite happy, not to worry!

[DrDawkinstein]

I'm a little confused on where exactly the line is for things like this though. The reporter doesn't seem to care at all, but the players' actions offended someone else who wasn't even involved. Is it even possible for someone to do something that won't offend a single person on the face of the earth?

 

i agree that nothing "that bad" happened in this incident, and the reporter feels the same way. i also think whoever is blowing this up in the media is stupid and just looking for a story where there isnt any. i also agree that NO reporters should be allowed in the locker room and have never understood the need for people to crowd around guys when they have just showered and want to get dressed.

 

however, i also understand:

1. that players are "grown ass men" as so many of them put it, and should be able to act respectfully and like adults.

2. the league's need to investigate and squelch this type of behavior. if they let this slide, then it sends the message that it's ok for players to act like a bunch of horny ponies and do whatever they want. it's only a matter of time until something worse happens and then the league gets sued. they are only protecting themselves from future lawsuit.

[HelloNewman]

Are male reporters allowed into WNBA or women's college or professional soccer teams' locker rooms?

 

AMEN!!!

[Bufcomments]

this is what she wore into the locker room..

 

she should have known wearing these skin tight jeans she was gonna get hit on...woman know what they are doing

 

http://twitpic.com/2nu00w

 

look at the rear..nuff said. I damn sure would hit on mami if she came into the locker room too. lol

Edited September 15, 2010 by Bufcomments

[truth on hold]

Portis said nothing wrong. What he said was simply the way it is. if you spoke to any one of the players in private they'd say the same thing. You cannot go against nature and pretend the male-female dynamics don't exist in that situation.

 

The problem is this ridiculous pc environment we find ourselves intersecting with this extreme interpretation of equality.

 

if equal access is the priority, then by all means get all reporters -- male and female -- out of the locker room. Why should these athletes required to do something in the locker that they'd go to jail for if they did it on the outside?

[KD in CA]

Portis apologizes....

 

http://bleacherrepor...-are-dead-wrong

 

Thank goodness.

 

Heaven forbid a player actually express an opinion that wasn't pre-screened by the NFL morality police.

[shrader]

i agree that nothing "that bad" happened in this incident, and the reporter feels the same way. i also think whoever is blowing this up in the media is stupid and just looking for a story where there isnt any. i also agree that NO reporters should be allowed in the locker room and have never understood the need for people to crowd around guys when they have just showered and want to get dressed.

 

however, i also understand:

1. that players are "grown ass men" as so many of them put it, and should be able to act respectfully and like adults.

2. the league's need to investigate and squelch this type of behavior. if they let this slide, then it sends the message that it's ok for players to act like a bunch of horny ponies and do whatever they want. it's only a matter of time until something worse happens and then the league gets sued. they are only protecting themselves from future lawsuit.

 

One of the one's that I found the funniest was a link in here earlier that said one of the uncomfortable things they did was running plays in her general direction. So let me get this straight. They tried to get the attention of someone covering the team? Shocking! I'm sure there were things that were far worse, but the "pile on" mentality by certain sections of the media out there is ridiculous. Next we'll hear that random reporter #76 thought Sanchez shook her hand 1 second too long and that was harassment.

[Bufcomments]

Portis said nothing wrong. What he said was simply the way it is. if you spoke to any one of the players in private they'd say the same thing. You cannot go against nature and pretend the male-female dynamics don't exist in that situation.

 

The problem is this ridiculous pc environment we find ourselves intersecting with this extreme interpretation of equality.

 

if equal access is the priority, then by all means get all reporters -- male and female -- out of the locker room. Why should these athletes required to do something in the locker that they'd go to jail for if they did it on the outside?

exactly

 

Maybe she was checking out mens packages without even going on a date. honey is a hottie and she knows somebody gonna ask her out who makes a ton of money, and she wants a piece of the pie.

 

Woman like that are dangerous to the men species lol

[RkFast]

WHOA WHOA WHOA buddy. She has been ON RECORD saying she was not offended, did not complain, and had no problem with either situation. it was the REST OF THE MEDIA that was around that is trying to make a story out of this. much like the quran burning BS story from last week.

 

don't pin this on her, she is great about it. watch the video.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/news/story?id=5568266&campaign=rss&source=NFLHeadlines

 

Im seeing that reported now, yes.

[Delete This Account]

Come on jw, we all watch TV. We see the mics jammed in front of the athletes face at his locker as he says "we didn't give 110% today", We were beaten by the better team tonight", "we've got a lot of work to do", "these guys really played great tonight", "we're not going to linger on this (win/loss), we're looking forward to playing (insert opponent) next week".

 

What are we missing? What's the deep background we need to interpret these profound nuggets?

 

I'm quite happy, not to worry!

and the good reporters wait for the microphones and cameras to leave and ask the questions they want to get the insight that doesn't come out of these scrums. fairly and unfairly, the media gets criticized for having a pack mentality. if you shut down access to the locker room, then the pack mentality and more 110% quotes is essentially all anyone's going to get. ... but thanks for explaining my job to me once again, Mr. Happy.

 

jw

[DrDawkinstein]

One of the one's that I found the funniest was a link in here earlier that said one of the uncomfortable things they did was running plays in her general direction. So let me get this straight. They tried to get the attention of someone covering the team? Shocking! I'm sure there were things that were far worse, but the "pile on" mentality by certain sections of the media out there is ridiculous. Next we'll hear that random reporter #76 thought Sanchez shook her hand 1 second too long and that was harassment.

 

agreed, and i think we are losing site of the REAL PROBLEM here, which is the make-everything-into-a-story media.

 

she didnt have a problem with them throwing passes towards her, she said she thought it was funny. it was the rest of the media (probably some jealous female reporter who doesnt get the attention) which turned this into a "story".

 

once its out there, the league HAS to do something about it so i dont blame the NFL for investigating.

 

but enough is enough with this 24-hour a day news channel BS.

 

with regards to the bold, the reporter herself doesnt seem to have a problem with it, but if the guy next to her cant come up with anything original to write about, im sure he'll make a story out of it just for the attention to his blog.

 

so who is really being the attention whore here? oh yeah, the media...

[papazoid]

and the good reporters wait for the microphones and cameras to leave and ask the questions they want to get the insight that doesn't come out of these scrums. fairly and unfairly, the media gets criticized for having a pack mentality. if you shut down access to the locker room, then the pack mentality and more 110% quotes is essentially all anyone's going to get. ... but thanks for explaining my job to me once again, Mr. Happy.

 

jw

 

trying to find a solution that protects players privacy.....is it possible that the locker room is not opened to media until everyone is dressed(not naked) and then require the players to stay for a certain period of time before they can leave.

[truth on hold]

agreed, and i think we are losing site of the REAL PROBLEM here, which is the make-everything-into-a-story media.

 

she didnt have a problem with them throwing passes towards her, she said she thought it was funny. it was the rest of the media (probably some jealous female reporter who doesnt get the attention) which turned this into a "story".

 

once its out there, the league HAS to do something about it so i dont blame the NFL for investigating.

 

but enough is enough with this 24-hour a day news channel BS.

 

with regards to the bold, the reporter herself doesnt seem to have a problem with it, but if the guy next to her cant come up with anything original to write about, im sure he'll make a story out of it just for the attention to his blog.

 

so who is really being the attention whore here? oh yeah, the media...

Skip Bayless on ESPN and the female host -- both of whom have been in several locker rooms -- admitted there are some people in the locker rooms who's primary agenda is not to report, but is to check the players out. Even worse, they're concerned about what images or videos may be taken of them. It's complete BS the players have to be put in this situation.

Edited September 15, 2010 by Joe_the_6_pack

[RkFast]

agreed, and i think we are losing site of the REAL PROBLEM here, which is the make-everything-into-a-story media.

 

she didnt have a problem with them throwing passes towards her, she said she thought it was funny. it was the rest of the media (probably some jealous female reporter who doesnt get the attention) which turned this into a "story".

 

once its out there, the league HAS to do something about it so i dont blame the NFL for investigating.

 

but enough is enough with this 24-hour a day news channel BS.

 

with regards to the bold, the reporter herself doesnt seem to have a problem with it, but if the guy next to her cant come up with anything original to write about, im sure he'll make a story out of it just for the attention to his blog.

 

so who is really being the attention whore here? oh yeah, the media...

 

I heard one of the coomments SOMEONE found "offensive" was the phrase "Youre a beautiful woman" spoken to Ms. Sainz in Spanish.

 

If that "offensive", I give up.

[BuffaloBill]

Portis said nothing wrong. What he said was simply the way it is. if you spoke to any one of the players in private they'd say the same thing. You cannot go against nature and pretend the male-female dynamics don't exist in that situation.

 

The problem is this ridiculous pc environment we find ourselves intersecting with this extreme interpretation of equality.

 

if equal access is the priority, then by all means get all reporters -- male and female -- out of the locker room. Why should these athletes required to do something in the locker that they'd go to jail for if they did it on the outside?

 

 

Lost in your continuing desire to defend the lowest standards of behavior is that the Jets along with the league are a business and a brand. Therefore, they have legal obligations to meet relative to potentially harrassing behavior. They also have to consider their image and appeal to people who may find the statements and alleged behavior offensive. Finally, the league and the Jets have established access policies or practices regaring the media. Even if the behavior, statements or environment were not in some way harrassing or improper the league and the players have to act according to league policy. These are the core issues.

[billsfreak]

How are male reporters in WNBA locker rooms relative in this discussion? I think the issue is Reporters of the opposite sex being in the locker rooms.

Am I missing something here? Or is this the most contradictory post ever on TBD? As far as I know, male reporters in a WNBA locker room would be reporters of the opposite sex in the locker room. Hint: The "W" in WNBA stands for Women's (or words to that effect) I believe.

[truth on hold]

Lost in your continuing desire to defend the lowest standards of behavior is that the Jets along with the league are a business and a brand. Therefore, they have legal obligations to meet relative to potentially harrassing behavior. They also have to consider their image and appeal to people who may find the statements and alleged behavior offensive. Finally, the league and the Jets have established access policies or practices regaring the media. Even if the behavior, statements or environment were not in some way harrassing or improper the league and the players have to act according to league policy. These are the core issues.

On the scale of "lowest standards of behavior", I'd place murder, rape, treason, drunk driving, kidnap, extorion and several other acts well above razzing some scantilly dressed flirtatious floozy. Fortunately the law agrees with me.

Edited September 15, 2010 by Joe_the_6_pack

[Lori]

Lori....do you think that men and women athletes should have a restricted area where they can get dressed PRIOR to the arrival of the media ?....or provide more time to allow them to get dressed before the media arrives?

 

It's a valid question, but the trouble with that? Deadlines, as John noted, and even moreso now that the 24-hour news cycle has usurped the previous way of life. Everyone wants info and they want it NOW. Should the entire open locker room procedure be reexamined? Perhaps, although he's given several compelling reasons for keeping it the way it is. (And he's your go-to guy on this, remember, certainly not me. This is stuff I'm not dealing with at the preps/local-sports level.) To be honest, most reporters probably wouldn't mind avoiding the eau de locker -- I've heard that hockey dressing rooms are the worst of them all -- but not at the expense of missing out on potential stories.

 

And to reiterate: if Clinton Portis thinks for a second that someone like Sally Jenkins or Christine Brennan is in there to check him out, he's sadly mistaken. Just because he apparently can't conduct himself in a professional manner doesn't mean that other people don't.

[billsfreak]

On the scale of "lowest standards of behavior", I'd place murder, rape, treason, drunk driving, kidnap, extorion and several other acts well above razzing some scantilly dressed flirtatious floozy. Fortunately the law agrees with me.

You forgot "Hit and Run"

[Lori]

The part of the NFL media policy pertaining to locker-room access (courtesy of the latest PFWA newsletter):

 

Reasonable cooperation with the news media is essential to the continuing popularity of our game and its players and coaches. The following league policy is reviewed and updated annually and remains standard operating procedure:

 

1. POSTGAME ACCESS – After a reasonable waiting period, defined as 10-12 minutes maximum after the completion of the game, the home and visiting team locker room areas will be opened to all accredited media with immediate access to all players and the head coach.

 

In order to relieve congestion in the locker room when it is opened to the media, each club must bring the head coach and at least o­ne star player of the game to an interview area as soon as possible. This interview area should be within close proximity of the locker room, or inside the locker room itself. Each club is responsible for setting up interview areas in its home stadium for both the home and visiting team. The interview area must include a riser for the coach/player. Access to the area should be restricted to working media o­nly. Voice amplification equipment and a second riser enabling television cameras to shoot over the reporters are suggested.

 

In the locker rooms, the home club must make arrangements for both teams to screen the shower areas from view without blocking access to player lockers. Also, each team must supply its players with wrap-around towels or robes in addition to the normal supply of bath towels for postgame showers. Clubs are urged as they see fit to take other measures for player privacy, such as placing shorts in each locker or building individual locker curtains. Clubs must ensure that name plates with players’ names and numbers are left in position until after the locker room has emptied of media.

 

Each club will exert its best effort to limit access to the postgame locker room and interview areas to club officials and working media. A club PR representative should be stationed at the locker room door to ensure orderly postgame access for accredited media and remain in the locker room until all media depart.

 

 

2. WEEKLY LOCKER ROOM ACCESS – Beginning no later than the week prior to the opening of the regular season through the playoffs, each club will open its locker room during the normal practice week (based o­n a Sunday game) o­n Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to all accredited media for player interviews for a minimum of 45 minutes. While the actual interviews may be conducted outside the locker room at the club’s or player’s request, the media must be allowed to make the interview request in person to the player in the locker room. For the purposes of this policy, Tuesday is treated as the players’ day off.

 

The minimum 45-minute daily interview time o­n four days of the practice week will be set at the club’s discretion, but it should occur when players are available and free of other club commitments. It is the club’s responsibility to deliver access to all players during this time period, and it is the player’s responsibility to cooperate. It should be noted that several clubs afford access to the media both before and after practice o­n a daily basis.

 

If a club has its o­nly daily interview session prior to practice, then the head coach should be available to answer post-practice questions, and the club should make its best effort to have players available for post-practice questions if requested. If the locker room is open to the media following practice, the club must screen the shower area from view and distribute appropriate clothing, e.g. wrap-around towels or robes for player privacy.

 

If a team gives its players two days off after a game, meaning no team meetings or practice o­n Monday (in addition to the typical Tuesday off day), the team must arrange for key players to be available to local media o­n Monday. The purpose is to ensure player availability between Sunday and Wednesday for media that are reporting o­n your team every day. This will ensure compliance with the spirit of the policy requiring the locker room to be open four days during the practice week for player interviews.

[Mr. WEO]

and the good reporters wait for the microphones and cameras to leave and ask the questions they want to get the insight that doesn't come out of these scrums. fairly and unfairly, the media gets criticized for having a pack mentality. if you shut down access to the locker room, then the pack mentality and more 110% quotes is essentially all anyone's going to get. ... but thanks for explaining my job to me once again, Mr. Happy.

 

jw

Not sure how I'm explaining your job to you.....

 

....but anyway, where are all these good reports form these good reporters in the locker room? Point them out.

[Captain Caveman]

Not sure how I'm explaining your job to you.....

 

....but anyway, where are all these good reports form these good reporters in the locker room? Point them out.

 

Would you get out of here already?

[DrDawkinstein]

Skip Bayless on ESPN and the female host -- both of whom have been in several locker rooms -- admitted there are some people in the locker rooms who's primary agenda is not to report, but is to check the players out. Even worse, they're concerned about what images or videos may be taken of them. It's complete BS the players have to be put in this situation.

 

agreed that they shouldnt be in there in the first place. male or female.

 

 

I heard one of the coomments SOMEONE found "offensive" was the phrase "Youre a beautiful woman" spoken to Ms. Sainz in Spanish.

 

If that "offensive", I give up.

 

again, im not saying that this isnt simply hyper-sensitivity in this particular case. but it's not Ms Sainz fault that this is happening, she was not offended by anything. this is the media making their own news as job security. they are literally making a story out of themselves. just like the quran burning, this is only making news because the news is shoving it down our throats.

[SwampD]

dummy, how is it a publicity stunt when IT WASNT HER WHO STARTED ANY OF THIS?!? she didnt complain, she has stated she is embarrassed about the entire thing, she was surprised it got this blown out of proportion.

 

watch the videos in the espn story i linked and stop making yourself look like a bigger ahole with every post.

again, im not saying that this isnt simply hyper-sensitivity in this particular case. but it's not Ms Sainz fault that this is happening, she was not offended by anything. this is the media making their own news as job security. they are literally making a story out of themselves. just like the quran burning, this is only making news because the news is shoving it down our throats.

Just because she was not the one offended does not mean she is not the reason this is happening. If she was dressed appropriately we would not even know her name today.

 

Also, everything in television is a publicity stunt.

 

(can't wait to find out what you call me for this one)

[BuffaloBill]

Not sure how I'm explaining your job to you.....

 

....but anyway, where are all these good reports form these good reporters in the locker room? Point them out.

 

 

Is it not enough that one reporter - that I know of - left the forum due to idiotic remarks like this? While John may choose to do so, he is under no obligation to have to defend himself or his profession from your obvious disdain. If you do not like what is done in the media then simply ignore it. In my opinion you have now stepped out of the boundaries of debate. Your comment is entirely uncalled for and inappropriate.

Edited September 15, 2010 by BuffaloBill

[Rob's House]

Is it not enough that one reporter - that I know of - left the forum due to idiotic remarks like this? While John may choose to do so, he is under no obligation to have to defend himself or his profession from your obvious disdain. If you do not like what is done in the media then simply ignore it. In my opinion you have now stepped out of the boundaries of debate. Your comment is entirely uncalled for and inappropriate.

WTF are you talking about? TG left b/c he was tired of people trashing his friends and employer. I don't think questioning the value of locker room interviews is quite in the same category.