As one of the first female reporters to be allowed inside the NFL locker room, she has been a pioneer in her field. Sanchez is a media-savvy guy, so I figured he would be a nice ice-breaker. Reporter Beth Ruyak stands holding a mircophone in front the NFC Locker Room before Super Bowl XXV with the New York Giants against the Buffalo Bills. So do you know about sports?" Its a symbiotic relationship. Although Olson settled a civil suit, fans of the football team made threats on Olson's life in the aftermath. There were reporters all around the lobby of the downtown Hyatt, waiting for coaches to arrive after a golf game. I began to cry. I've known one veteran NFL player for more than 20 years -- since he was in college -- and he tolerates women in the locker room but honestly believes we, including me, are there to look at naked . Jerseys are on the floor, not on the playersno jerseys, no name tags, just toweled dudes walking around. Me, the girl who has no fear, was nervous. Sept. 8, 1985 12 AM PT United Press International Sportswriter Donna Balancia had two team officials block her from the New York Giants' locker room after a recent preseason game. He joked, he smiled, and he was a great first for me. About two yards down, I see legs behind the batting cage. So you've been in the Mavericks locker room? Build a site and generate income from purchases, subscriptions, and courses. Friends at Bible study ask if the players are mean to me. SAGAL: B, according to the club rules, quote, "at the point in their menstrual cycle when they are least likely to attract bears," unquote. I'm a general assignment sports reporter now, which means I do whatever they ask of me. One was about the sad tale of the career of David Clyde. A small band of medianormal-sized humanstries to keep out of half-naked players way as they dip behind a curtain sporting the teams logo and into the showers. We went to a bench just outside the door and began to look through it. I mean, I know how penises work. The NFL also sent a memo to all 32 teams in the league Thursday reminding them of its equal access and conduct policy toward the media. He sure wished he'd taken it, he said in hindsight. Michele Tafoya, welcome to WAIT WAITDON'T TELL ME! [6] Sullivan observed Olson and determined that she was acting professionally, interviewing Maurice Hurst, but took no other action. I tried to explain that it is probably a lot like being a male gynecologist: the daily procession of personal parts becomes so routine that it ceases to be of anything but professional interest. Unfortunately, they were working on a few things in that resort, which included labelling the male and female locker rooms. Before I could utter a word, he said, "Wait, let me rub it, it will get hard.". TAFOYA: You know what, though, timing is everything, and I think I sort of followed the floodgates that were opened by Lesley Visser and Robin Roberts. In the arbitrary world of newspaper politics, the arrival of a new sports editor breathed life into my career. Tell Me When It's Over is an interview series in which we ask former athletes about the moment they. Oh equality indeed. No reason being a modern love to prove she said her ideal, first female reporter in nfl locker room! I asked him if he hoped to play in the majors one day. Industrial-size hampers, home to growing mounds of moist practice jerseys, sit on each side of the cramped chamber in its Syosset, New York, training facility. SAGAL: That's an interesting message for somebody who works for "Sunday Night Football" to send. "I don't have any idea what you're up to.". September 19, 2010 at 2:43 p.m. TV Azteca reporter Ines Sainz was uncomfortable with catcalls she received in the New York Jets locker room as she waited to interview quarterback Mark Sanchez . Maybe I'd never fit in. For most of the guys who hang around for more than three dates, my job suddenly becomes a problem. She is currently involved in a court case to allow women reporters in sports locker rooms. SAGAL: B, George Washington himself went on a three-day bender there. It's a symbiotic relationshipthe relationship only works if both parties are comfortable with the other. I did not want to smell the entire ride home, so I decided to take a shower. (AP Photo/Dave Pickoff) How could it be that it was 43 years ago when Sports Illustrated reporter Melissa Ludtke and Time Inc., sued Major League Baseball for denying her access to the clubhouses at Yankee Stadium? Bell bottoms hung over my head as I berated Tom Landry for not getting rid of Mike Clark or praised Roger Staubach the way little kids now get all slobbery over Nolan Ryan. "OK, you mean you've talked to Troy Aikman, and you didn't notice what a hunk he is?". They've both seen Patriot missiles up close." I have no idea why, except that Nolan Ryan and my daddy are my heroes, and I just have no need of seeing either one of their white heinies. He said this about three times. In 1975, the NHL allowed New York Times reporter Robin Herman into the men's locker room, making her the first woman to enter a hockey team clubhouse. Lately I've just started saying I'm a secretary at Wolfe's Nursery. You take a right turn before you have to walk straight into the naked men and the soap. The Downing part of it, as the guys who would later be a part of The Ticket said, was because, "He wouldn't hit a girl, so we'll go in behind you. Robin Herman, a gender barrier-breaking reporter for The New York Times who was the first female journalist to interview players in the locker room after an NHL game, has died. It was at height of the womens movement, Herman said. Locker rooms are overrated. TAFOYA: No, I always talk to them off camera because I can get more out of them, and then I come back after halftime, and I report to the audience what I've been told. The internet, magazines, and plenty of small family-owned businesses in the Philadelphia area offer the same experience. She later was a columnist for the FanHouse sports website, and then a columnist for Sporting News. Because of my vantage point, it appeared I would have to walk through the shower, through the four wet, naked men, to get to the actual locker-room area. 2 min read Independent media will not have access to locker rooms during the upcoming NFL. Women will kick up a fuss about men being in a women's locker room, and men should do the same with women. I was covering the minor league team in Wilmington, Del., one night. SAGAL: We'll be back in a minute with more of WAIT WAITDON'T TELL ME! ADAM FELBER: Welcome back to You Disgust Me with Michele Tafoya. Ludtke could gain access to baseball clubhouses to cover the World Series in 1978 and she wrote an Op-Ed piece for the Times when the New England Patriots were harassing Lisa Olson, a reporter for the Boston Herald at the time. Was I stared at? Oh sure, they may actually think I'm an idiot. Or at least that's what I thought I said. I began investigating the pay-for-play scandals of the Southwest Conference. He said he wanted to talk. So what? After I poured myself out in the "Locker Room" piece, I was a bit empowered. The only way a female reporter can do her job in a locker room is if the players don't look at her as a chick. Gordon Robertson, locker room guard, stops Robin Herman from entering the Chicago Black Hawks locker room (January 1975). Hey, this is pretty cool, I thought. He got an apology from the Hyatt; I got suspected of prostitution while waiting in a hotel lobby for Grant Teaff. It was critical no one smelled fear or I'd lose respect from the get-go. I'm sure he's been naked in the room where I was at some time. Will Saturday be the last game for Jason Kelce at Lincoln Financial Field? The little pranksters had used a bowl or something to draw a "circle slash" over Ruben's crotch. Gardner is considered a pioneer in sports broadcasting, having been the first female sports anchor to appear weekly on a major network. Near the field, I can see it is Al Newman and somebody. Still, most professional athletes also realize that allowing journalists into their sanctuary is a part of the job. NFL Network Airs Interview With Naked Players In Background. We both approached the front desk, where the clerk sided with the guard, saying I could remain for 10 more minutes, but only if I stayed out of the central lobby and remained "mobile." By Adrienne Jones. After the initial averting of my eyes, I noticed a member of USCs staff naked as well, and it then occurred to me; after you see one naked butt, they all start to look the same. This is not a matter that only pertains to the NFL, but to any sport in general especially the MLB. But a little girl with blonde pin curls somehow slipped into the line of succession. He said I was loitering. SAGAL: Here's your first question. We understood the importance this held.. I was in some pretty heavy company. The players were roaming around in towels or standing by their lockers speaking into digital recordersno one was smacking towels on butts, no one was making soap jokes. So while I'm asking him about his family's strawberry farm, I'm wondering if eggs have given him this nice, shiny coat or if he uses his wife's conditioner, and if so, what is it? published October 19, 2015. I told the PR guy that I sure hated to bring this up, but there was no place for the way this guy was acting. They didn't know, and it made me feel awkward that they didn't know that this stuff really didn't bother me outside of the fact that I felt obligated to respond with a remark, which took away from my ability to do my job. And theres going to be cameras. [10], After the incident became public, Olson was subjected to harassment by fans of the Patriots. Players mostly accept that strangers will see them au naturel. But of course, he hadn't lost Fluffy; he'd found a woman in his locker room. These arent your high school gym locker roomsmany are increasingly part of multi-room complexes including lounges and training rooms that media cant accessbut journalists would be hard pressed to find so many sources anywhere else. The realities of the corporate world and the attitudes of Texas high school and college coaches quickly clouded my idealistic vision of a quick ascent from 18-year-old ball-girl phenom to big-league ace baseball writer. An Ongoing Problem : Women Reporters Resent How They're Treated in the Locker Rooms By FRED LIEF Jan. 5, 1986 12 AM PT United Press International NEW YORK "If a reporter is duly and. [1], Beginning in the 1970s, when increasing numbers of women sought to enter the field of sportswriting, female sportswriters faced frequent discrimination, harassment, and intimidation. ), "Hey, if you know so much about sports," he continues, "let's see if you can answer this question: Who was the last NFL running back to also play quarterback in an even-numbered Super Bowl? The sexism row over a female sports reporter who was allegedly harassed in the New York Jets locker room was reignited last night after a Fox NFL analyst claimed she was 'asking for it.' The game was boring. After five years as a sports reporter, she moved on to write about science and health, leaving the rest of the battle to July 27, 1997 Seven years ago, Zeke Mowatt flashed himself at Lisa Olson, who was then a reporter for the Boston Herald, and the great locker room debate erupted. Originally published June 4, 1992, in the Dallas Observer. People were calling from all over about the piece. SAGAL: Do you do that because I've wondered about that? That's before they tell me I don't have any business in the locker room. Tipped off to my presence, the coach broke into a near run when I headed toward him in the hall. Needless to say, this was a must-listen from the jump. As I steamed over this, I took a shot of courage (a cold Starbucks Caf Latte) and pondered my circumstances. Her family were fervent sports fans. I was surprised to realize that some of the wounds still hurt. The immediate response is curiosity: Do I get to go in the locker room? And theyre very conscious that everything they say could get out.. He sobbed at his locker for 15 minutes after the game, as ESPNs Kevin Seifert wrote, later facing a gaggle of reporters. Jenny Kellner. Whats more, players are increasingly media empires in and of themselves, lessening their incentive to cooperate with journalists. done in the locker room, so equal access had to be granted. I went home and called my sports editor. If necessity of deadlines or getting to someone before another reporter called for it, sure, I'd talk to Oral Roberts's 900-foot Jesus naked, no matter where the crotch fell. Whoops! "It's the same as a man in the locker room to me.". It may have been his first night. Api. Point guards became my instant favorites for those early post-shower interviews. By that time I had moved east to cover the Phillies. It was an exercise in concentration trying to figure out who was who, and while I was concentrating, unfortunately, I managed to sashay into an area that should have had warning signs around it. And he began reading. A new generation of sports writers has responded to this shift by increasingly using advanced metrics and digital tools to change the genre entirely. I checked out Rey Maualugas locker, which resembles something out of that voodoo-worshipping slugger from the movie Major League. The issue at hand was equal access to the players in the locker room for all reporters, regardless of their gender. The rumor was bogus, but it planted an idea. Couldn't you tell? He was thrilled to get an interview, and was so polite and warm, I didnt realize he was wearing practically nothing while I spoke with him. Ludtke said she constantly reminded people that she never demanded to go in a locker room. There are postgame press conferences and media availability throughout the week. She was a travel writer and at the end of a marriage, and we were traipsing around the Four Corners area. The Mavericks pose an entirely different set of problems. Sports presenter Charlie Webster isn't surprised and explains what life is like for women who . I mean, we know a guy is probably happy to be a number-one draft choice, but what makes him real is how he is like or unlike us. I had started wandering longingly over to the sports department, just to talk about baseball. Pearlman is a household name when it comes to sportswriters, and Long is one of the most beloved Philadelphia athletes in recent memory. I ended up covering minor events full time, even doing the dreaded office score-taking work again. I somehow persuaded them to open it and sell the book to me. It might as well have been a water cooler. It's been 46 years since the first women entered a professional locker room when two female reporters were allowed to conduct after-game interviews in the locker rooms at the 1975 N.H.L. I think you'd need to show that male reporters are not allowed into female locker rooms to show a double standard. The latter are supposed to be more humorous than the former, though adulthood has taught me different. 2011 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. You're the sideline reporter. Sometimes I'm kind of quiet in a group interview, and I have this feeling other reporters will think it's because I'm a dumb ol' girl. I wasn't afraid of naked men. Suddenly it all made sense: the way the numbers went across in a line on a scoreboard, what the three numbers at the end of the nine meant, even why the shortstop didn't have a bag. And I didn't want to go back to putting up full-time with condescending high school and college coaches and jerks guarding locker room doors. I was nervous the first time I entered the Rangers locker room, about seven years ago. Or go back to feature writing. TAFOYA: I'm entering my third season for "Sunday Night Football. Here's your last question. [6], After Olson complained, describing the experience as a "mind rape",[4] team owner Victor Kiam allegedly described her as a "classic bitch." I hate to invade their pain and their anger and sometimes even their happiness. Indeed, athletes are increasingly coached on what to say to reporters in interviewsand what not to say. By now I wouldn't really notice if he'd worn a towel or hadn't. SALIE: Like gee, coach, it's not going so well, is it? What does it really matter if the rest of the world knows? I began to wonder, what had I done with the last seven years of my life? She was 70. Some simply called me a "stupid bitch" and hung up. Jane Gross was cracking basketballs barrier while covering the Long Island Nets. Gayle Gardner began working for ESPN in 1983 as a SportsCenter anchor, becoming one of the first women to regularly anchor a nightly network sports broadcast. A large portion of a reporter's job is coverage of cultural aspects. We laughed and remembered when Desmond Reed finally scored a touchdown and he lit up telling me, I couldnt even enjoy it. SALIE: Men, that was all men, that was all men, sister. So you're a female reporter, you are allowed inside the NFL locker room, you're a pioneer, but there's still places out there, Michele, where they believe in cooties. [1], In 2013, Olson's incident with the Patriots was addressed in the documentary Let Them Wear Towels, part of ESPN Films' Nine for IX series that commemorated the 40th anniversary of the enactment of Title IX. We're going to ask you about famous men's only clubs. You can listen to the whole thing here. The incident is considered by many to be a watershed moment for women in sports journalism. Then there was the occasion Rangers manager Doug Rader spat corn on me after I asked a dumb question. They said they weren't selling those yet because they hadn't been tagged. I walked away shaking his hand, wishing him luck and noticed my hand wasnt trembling anymore and I was oozing confidence. when she asked if he'd like brown gravy or cream. I started out in the office, taking scores on the phone and taking heat from the guys. The following year, a federal judge struck down the MLB policy on 14th Amendment grounds. I was ready to gnaw my way through the first one I saw that might have had the book in it. Like a son telling his mom, Way to go, you made me proud.. [2] She was the sports editor of her high school and college newspapers. Not just people while Im pulling my pants up. Affidavit Sample Administrative. Should women be allowed in locker rooms? SAGAL: Absolutely. Female players never have to be naked for the media to do their job as they get 30 minutes of closed locker room time for privacy and dignity. I can't remember the number of times I've picked up the phone in the sports department, answered some trivia question, and, when the answer didn't win the guy a bar bet, had the caller demand, "Put a man on this phone." Scoreboard: Caps Ovechkin Outdoes Pens Crosby and Malkin, Rangers First Pick Is One With Ties to the Islanders, Devils Work a Trade So They Can Select Brodeurs Son, Islanders Make Deal With Wild Before Selecting a Defenseman in the First Round. I didn't want to be branded as some woman on a crusade. If he's uneasy, it's time to get out of the stirrups. Then it hits me: My job means I get to be around this game and write about it. He kept muttering. Reprinted here with permission from the author, who has also provided an afterword about the response to her story. Someone has come out early for batting practice. January 5, 2022 1 Former Eagles defensive lineman and Super Bowl LII champion Chris Long made an appearance on Jeff Pearlman's podcast Two Writers Slinging Yang. For the first time in NFL history there will be two female coaches on the. Fear of the unknown tends to do that to you. I never told my friends. That sort of collegiality isnt obsolete in locker rooms, but real-time publishing certainly ups the danger of such humor being viewed out of context. I was a common sight in and around the Rangers digs in those days, so it was no longer like I was some rookie, afraid to speak my mind. She would later come to work at The Times as well. The one thing that keeps you focused in a locker room is simplethese guys are not wearing clothes, and the only way you can identify who they are is by face recognition. Oh sure, at first they think it's pretty cool that you're the only person at a party who can remember Neil Lomax's name or that you can name all the Rangers managers in 18 secondswith a shot in your mouth. The next day, another player told Eskenazi it was a joke. If I never went in a locker room, it would have been fine with me, Ludtke said. Except she. According to the Chicago Tribune, Briggs stands behind his comments. The he got to a really big one"Best General Column Writing." Phyllis George Brown, a former Miss America winner and the first female sportscaster to work at a major network, died on Thursday after complications from a blood disorder she had developed. SAGAL: What's the worst reaction you've ever gotten in that situation? Numerous new-media outlets have likewise gained access, leading to a ballooning locker room press corps and, in turn, limiting the exclusivity of any individual interview. TAFOYA: And so if they come up with any other days of the week, I'll be happy to try those, as well. I was ready once again to be the greatest sportswriter who ever lived. Jennifer Briggs has covered the Texas Rangers, Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Phillies, and Green Bay Packers. Others, including Michael Timpson, made jokes and egged each other on. He was really mouthing off at me. to persuade N.H.L. It was after the Iron Bowl, the big game against Auburn. She is an American humorist and sportswriter who now does reviews for Publishers Weekly and writes for a variety of publications, including the Dallas Observer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, USA Today, and Sports Illustrated. It is one thing not to look at your notepad, but another not to be able to look straight ahead without a big clothesline of boy parts. from She had prepared for it by being in the first class of women admitted to Princeton and said [4] In 1985, the NFL enacted an equal access policy of its own. I won't even look in their eyes. TAFOYA: I mean, you get to know every single coach and how he's going to respond to you in TAFOYA: that moment, and you just sort of brace for it. I didn't give it a whole lot of thought as I went into the office that day. Its a mind-numbing thing to experiencegetting complete wrapped up in a job and not noticing the other stuff around you. Later he admitted to calling her a "classy bitch. It's like having a male gynecologistif he's fairly comfortable doing his thing, it makes the female patient fairly comfortable. SAGAL: Because I remember - this was now going back 20 years ago maybe SAGAL: when the first female reporters were working major sports, and they wanted to go into the locker room and do the same damn interviews that their male counterparts were doing. I kept saying, Im not the story; the game is the story,' Herman said, reflecting on the night. Answer (1 of 4): After reading Carrie Rickey's answer, I have to say that no one ever gets this story right. Career ladders are never cushy for anybody, man or woman, unless of course your dad is president of GM or GE or whatever Nation's Bank is called this week. I think I may have actually gained some respect in various journalism and sports circles. During this phase of courtship, most men would be reassuring Lassie that her role as a dog star doesn't matter that they just like her nice, shiny coat. I walked over to the only Angel who didn't yet have on some form of clothing. I had to remind myself that I should probably look away. And of course, women everywhere want to know about that great walled fortress of wet boy flesh, the locker room. I got nothing left. I eventually walked over to Kenny, who was sitting on a stool by his cubicle. After a while, you just get used to nakedness and its all business. Create and promote branded videos, host live events and webinars, and more. He still didn't answer my question directly. I was doing another piece on the last day game at the old place, and I was in the dirt bowels of that poor old Erector set where many things, including skunks and raccoons, lived. [7][8], Eventually, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue ordered an investigation under the aegis of former Watergate scandal prosecutor Philip Heymann;[5] the 60-page report concluded that Olson was "degraded and humiliated." I herby officially declare this behavior: Sign up for Parx Sportsbook and deposit $25 using code WOLVES69, Very real and legitimate journalist | Wednesday Guest Host of The Daily Ticket w/ Sean Brace from 3-6 pm on Fox Sports "The Gambler" | I don't see a loss on the schedule | @ryanconway76. Check out some of our favorites so far. Bill, who's Michele Tafoya playing for? The TCBY people are pouring half gallons of yogurt stuff into the soft-serve machines; a guy is sweeping up peanuts in three-quarter time. Leaking testosterone and reeking of beer, a Jethro Bodin-esque character sidles up and asks what I do. SAGAL: So how did you get into the - how did you - I mean, I'm going to guess SAGAL: that it's harder for a woman to get into major league professional sports reporting than it is for a man. Standard Fraley, so no problems there. Family trips in an egg-shell-white Impala to see the cousins in Plainview took fewer rough turns. The more we try to know about our sporting heroes, the less they tell us. For a gender that keeps complaining about equality and respect, they certainly dont seem to think men should get either of those. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Long before I was allowed to eat fish with bones, could go all night without peeing in my bed, or understood Gilligan's Island wasn't real, I loved baseball. Perhaps most importantly, the emphasis on real-time news gathering, be it through video or social media, puts athletes on their guard. But I was humbled by the honor. Places in Arlington might not get it until mid-afternoon. Oh no, I was not having that. During the incident, Ms. Olson said a group of naked players crowded around her to. This blogs regular features, including live game analysis, reader discussion, news and notes from Jeff Z. Klein and others, can now be found on the Hockey section front. She demanded the same access that male reporters had. We drove to a mall in Santa Fe, and there were the boxes, taped, freshly shipped, in the front of the store. Before that, reporters thought they understood games better than the athletes playing them, largely omitting the player and coach personalities that make sports stories into something more than hits, runs, and errors. So why are they going to think the reporter is any different at first? I don't have a radio talk show yet, but I now make my living writing about sportsat the moment, mostly the Texas Rangers. (I'm serious, they really ask this. My name and Roger Angell's had been mentioned in the same sentence. In my three years away, I'd shed a husband, a house, a lot of weight, and a collection of unhealthy habits. I never went near a bedroom with any of them, but I told him "a woman" because I didn't know how answering "18" to this loaded question would affect my precarious career. SAGAL: All right. When the day finally came that she would break down a huge professional barrier, Robin Herman did not have much time to prepare. But I couldn't back out. And then you've got this woman who comes in to interview them, maybe with big hair and a short skirt too, depending on the humidity and what's off at the cleaners that day. The Boston Herald offered her a transfer to Australia, where she would work for the Daily Telegraph in Sydney, which Olson accepted. On Tuesday, Portis told 106.7 The Fan that both players and female reporters have wandering eyes when the sexes are mixed in a locker room setting. Its basically the same interview, over and over again, Islanders forward Anders Lee said Monday, taking off his pads in the corner of the locker room. Once you have a live camera or microphone in front of you, youre a different person, says Eskenazi, who covered a variety of sports over his long career. TAFOYA: a player sitting next to him says, ma'am, could you just turn around and let the man put a towel on? Calvin Russell. Pleasure to have you. I retreated back behind the door before anyone could see me. I should have told him how sad it was that he had to rub his own. She was drawn back into the controversy as other sports faced their women-in-the-locker-room moments most famously in the court case brought by Sports Illustrated so the reporter Melissa I was unknowingly standing next to the shower exit and of course, two linemen cruised by me with nothing on. I just wanted to cover sports. So I stepped down the tunnel from the dugout to the clubhouse and peered around the open door. It's the reason I'm a sportswriter, and I learned it from my dad.

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