She was a travel writer and at the end of a marriage, and we were traipsing around the Four Corners area. For most of the guys who hang around for more than three dates, my job suddenly becomes a problem. SALIE: Men, that was all men, that was all men, sister. "OK, you mean you've talked to Troy Aikman, and you didn't notice what a hunk he is?". 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. And a few guys maybe flounced around a little more just for brief amusement. Donna doesn't like politics, so she asks what it is I do for the paper again. Bergen Legal. Donna doesn't like newspapers either. He had leis, candles, and the whole altar thing going on in his locker. On Jan 21, 1975 she "broke the locker room barrier" as the first female reporter to enter a male professional league locker room (NHL All-Star Game) for post-game quotes. About 1986, there was a college football convention in Dallas. I was covering the minor league team in Wilmington, Del., one night. She was previously a sports columnist for the New York Daily News, and the first female sports columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald, where she covered rugby union, Australian rules football, cricket and rugby league. It was supposed to be about the fact that I had some negative things to say about my early work environment. If you dont understand that, particularly as a woman, you might misinterpret it.. 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. SAGAL: And those pioneers were like, no, we're going, we're doing our job. One of the more interesting nuggets from the conversation between two of my favorites was Longs take on reporters accessing locker rooms postgame. The NFL launched an investigation into the incident after Sainz, a veteran reporter, claimed footballs were thrown in her direction by a Jets coach during a practice - seemingly deliberately - and players later called out to her in the team's locker room. Affirmative. As I steamed over this, I took a shot of courage (a cold Starbucks Caf Latte) and pondered my circumstances. But the point is that you don't even think much about people being naked after a while, and unless you have some peculiar reason for remembering, you don't know who you have seen naked because they all kind of waltz in and out of the shower naked, just one wet butt covered with soap film after another. I was leaning against a post, waiting for Grant Teaff, holding a notepad. Even in the relatively overlooked NHL, the New York Islanders draw about 30 journalists a game. Ines Sainz, a reporter for the Mexican network TV Azteca, gestures while working on the sideline during the second quarter of an NFL football between the New York Jets and the Baltimore Ravens at . Oh sure, they may actually think I'm an idiot. I wanted to cry each time he said that. I was afraid of the unknown. But by then I had gotten to know the sportswriters and broadcasters, and the Star-Telegram offered me a jobin sportstyping in scores and answering the phone. NFL Network reporter, Jane Slater, says that her job being dependent on waiting around an NFL locker room while men are completely naked for an hour to get a. Should they be banned from locker rooms? 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. After the game, he stood at the door of the locker room and told Visser, "There might be a naked boy in there, but I don't give a s___t." Were you a football fan growing up? Staggering snowfall in California mountains leaves residents trapped for days, SpaceX launches new crew to space station, Video shows deadly Greek train crash as station boss admits "error", Blinken, Lavrov meet briefly as U.S.-Russia tensions soar, Prosecution wraps case at Alex Murdaugh murder trial, White House cybersecurity strategy pivots to regulation, Explosive found in checked luggage at Pennsylvania airport, feds say, Rape kits from two women lead to arrest in 1979 murder of one of them, Several hospitalized after Lufthansa flight diverted to Dulles due to turbulence. Slap Shot, the New York Times hockey blog, reports on the Rangers, the National Hockey League and anything that glides quickly across a frozen surface anywhere on the globe, from the snowy prairies of Saskatchewan to I admit, some days even the UPS guy looks awful good. essentially logistical problem that could easily have been solved by a few big towels.. Graduate. The game was boring. The rest is all overrated. Samsung Pdf. When I interviewed players, I found I had a much more personal relationship with them if I could sit next to them at their locker, says Gerald Eskenazi, an occasional CJR contributor who spent more than 40 years writing for The New York Times. I eventually walked over to Kenny, who was sitting on a stool by his cubicle. I got in the car. 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. I had been lobbying for this for a long time, so when the opportunity presented itself, I said Id Long goes on to mention how most reporters would brush his concerns aside, which would honestly drive me nuts. SAGAL: All right. You're the sideline reporter. She faced off against the MLB commissioner and won access a year later, but the . The Mavericks pose an entirely different set of problems. Getting the killer quote? 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. This is all very exciting. For a minute, before I start to work, I smell the bubble gum in the breeze and look at the kids leaning over the dugout and the boys of summer in it. We all just kind of deal with it, says Jenni Carlson, a columnist for The Oklahoman and self-described shorter person who fights to see and hear her often giant interview subjects. 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 like to think I've earned a little respect. 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. Gordon Robertson, locker room guard, stops Robin Herman from entering the Chicago Black Hawks locker room (January 1975). I have assimilated to a large degree but probably never will completely. She was a member of the first class of women at Princeton University. Ball on the reporter in female nfl locker room change to. No one did or said anything off-color. 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. Not about naked bodies or about crude remarks but about how they would think I feltand how I intended to respond with confidence, no matter what happened. SAGAL: Actually, it was B with George Washington. would be given the same access as men. All-Star Game in Montreal. Was I stared at? Event marketing. 26 photos, First published on August 12, 2011 / 12:24 PM. Kids at the tanning salon want to know if I date the players. And surely the Observer's reader demographics did not include most ballplayers and some stadium employees. Api. 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. Ill never forget the first time I entered that forbidden place called the players locker room. And blocked by virtue of being a woman Melissa Ludtke's landmark. When you've got dirt on them, all the condescending good-ol'-boy stuff goes out the window. I remember being scared because I hadn't known how the locker room was going to look or smell or who or what I would have to wade throughliterally and figurativelyto find this man. But it struck me that something had changed: that my presence was no longer cause for flouncing; that I'd somehow earned this strange sign of courtesy and respect. And now the game where we ask people who've achieved great things questions that diminish all their achievements. On cue, all the players in the Jets locker room got up and they all had the word Gitte written on their asses, he says. My aim as a writer is to make the people I cover seem human to the readers. I always said modern feminism has nothing to do with equality and this degrading treatment of men proves it. "I can't believe you are not in love with these men," she says, biting her cuticle. 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. Fear of the unknown tends to do that to you. So you've been in the Mavericks locker room? SAGAL: Michele Tafoya, we're delighted to have you with us. 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. I wrote management repeatedly. 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. Most of the men I've dated certainly don't know about the social fraying of America or why it might be at all amusing that a guy named Fujimori is in charge of Peru, so you'd certainly hope they knew some inane facts about NFL rushers. The first time I saw The Best American Sports Writing, I wasn't anywhere near good enough a writer to gain entry into that elite company. It doesn't make me angry anymore; it just seems silly and absurd. I asked. Jerseys are on the floor, not on the playersno jerseys, no name tags, just toweled dudes walking around. In a few more feet, the torsos appear and the warm breeze melts around my face. SAGAL: Or C, in December, only to buy Christmas gifts for their husbands in the pro shop? Briggs first said women journalists should be barred from locker rooms during an interview with Peggy Kusinski of NBCChicago.com on Wednesday, the same day the NFL issued a memo that said women . But its the same answers to the same questions.. Herman, who is now assistant dean for research communications at Harvards School of Public Health, has written about that night many times, including a first-person article in the Times a few weeks later. agree wrote: If a male reporter went into the womens locker room, all hell would break loose. It was at height of the womens movement, Herman said. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. One of the most famous all-male gentlemen's clubs in London was the Reform Club with the fictional Phineas Fogg started and ended his trip around the world in 80 days. I kept saying, Im not the story; the game is the story,' Herman said, reflecting on the night. You know, it was like, "So-and-so from The Beaumont Enterprise, many so-and-so's from The Dallas Morning News.". when she asked if he'd like brown gravy or cream. (Lowrance/Getty) NFL boss Roger Goodell was demanding answers Sunday night from. Ms. Olson was reporting on the New England Patriots in 1990 when she was sexually harassed in the locker room. And I have shared that with very few people. The reporters were covering the team's loss to the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Before The Best American Sports Writing for that year was in bookstores, I went on a Thelma and Louise-type journey with a girlfriend. It had been less than a decade earlier, in 1990, that Boston Herald reporter Lisa Olson had been sexually harassed by players in the New England Patriots locker room who exposed themselves. And while most nudity is off-camera and doesnt find its way to audiences, the shirtless, disheveled, or still-sweating sports star, facing an array of microphones in front of his cubby, has become an enduring image in sports coverage. 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. ", TAFOYA: I spent about eight seasons before that on "Monday Night Football.". So, 35 years ago, Herman and another woman a Montreal radio reporter, Marcel St. Cyr gathered with other reporters after the game and walked in to conduct postgame interviews. Cripes, maybe I should just wait til they all get dressed before talking to them? I pushed open the door and gazed into the visitors' locker room, a big square chamber with locker cubicles lining its perimeter and tables and chairs scattered around the center. During the 1977 World Series, the MLB commissioner's office banned then- Sports Illustrated reporter Melissa Ludtke from both teams' locker rooms, overriding the New York Yankees' blessing and a majority vote in the Los Angeles Dodgers' clubhouse. The Star-Telegram phone began to ring. I was nervous the first time I entered the Rangers locker room, about seven years ago. It was time to go back to the dream. Good God, all I had wanted to do was cover sports. Its my fault, Walsh said, his eyes still glistening. He said I was loitering. It was mostly worn, ectoplasm-green indoor-outdoor carpetingand stares. It wasn't Reggie or pro-locker-room banter. Oh no, I was not having that. Whoops! I corresponded with them for another two years before the call finally came. Women did not get equal access to post-game locker room interviews until a federal court decision in 1978. Property. As usual, several radio guys lined up behind me. I didn't want to be branded as some woman on a crusade. Horse's Heinie on occasion, was watching a college football game in a chair in the middle of it allnaked. A, while he was gone, the club had viewed the classic Monty Python Dead Parrot sketch and decided Mr. Palin was too vulgar to be readmitted to the premises; B, he got back to London but couldn't be readmitted because he was poorly dressed; or C, he tried to drive himself to the club in central London but got lost? SAGAL: I got to ask you about the locker room. Reporters do not need to be in the locker room. During the 1977 World Series, the MLB commissioners office banned then-Sports Illustrated reporter Melissa Ludtke from both teams locker rooms, overriding the New York Yankees blessing and a majority vote in the Los Angeles Dodgers clubhouse. Instead of saying so-and-so is a good player, and heres a quote, I include some Vines and GIFs to show why hes so good, says Kevin Trahan, who writes for Vice and SB Nation. Readmore, With the 65th overall pick, the Rangers chose Adam Tambellini, a 6-foot-2 center whose father and brother each played for the Islanders. She described the language used by players as "rude" and says she was "discomforted.". I was certainly heartened when I heard about Robin, said Ludtke, who also now works at Harvard as editor of the Neiman Reports magazine. Apparently a guy has to be awfully secure not to be intimidated by my frequent trips into locker rooms (as though I'm doing comparative shopping) or by my knowing a good bit about sports. After a long game, while standing in the middle of the clubhouse waiting for someone to appear, I sometimes gaze off in one direction, the way you stare when you're bored and become transfixed on an object until your eyes cross and you snap back into the reality of car payments and cellulite. After five years as a sports reporter, she moved on to write about science and health, leaving the rest of the battle to others. Build a site and generate income from purchases, subscriptions, and courses. Some summers we went to 20 games; others we went to about 56. Quite normal, nothing harmful. 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. Nudity rarely bothered me, but I prefer never to see Nolan Ryan in anything but Ranger white or bluejeans. 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. Mortified, I pondered my attire (a baggy smock top and pants). Affidavit Sample Administrative. I talk to the coaches at halftime as they walk in or out of the locker room, and that's always a load of fun especially the losing coach. I began bicycling and training for a marathon. "Are you going to talk to me or not?" That's before they tell me I don't have any business in the locker room. Mike called me into his office and told me he was now "into it" for passing on the piece. Alabama Phenix. 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. My most innocent comments were greeted with sexual innuendo. In an interview on the March 11, 2011 edition of Bill Simmons' podcast, "The B.S. Since I watched hockey as a kid, it was always this way.. So everyone's kind of shuffling around. Then, just as I walked in the door, it struck me that I was five feet, three inches tallabout the height of an NBA crotch. 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. The access is great, but it does create some very. He said he chose to run this piece in tandem with Roger Angell's piece because, all else aside, they were stories by a couple of kids who grew up loving baseball. The Stacks is Deadspin's living archive of great journalism, curated by Bronx Banter's Alex Belth., Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise. I've wanted to write stories about baseball since I was 10 years oldto write words so good that people would read them twice. 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. Several were guys who had been my superiors at one time or another and were just so gushing with their praise. 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 wanted to know these 4 things: 1. The potential downside of the setting, meanwhile, is obvious: A poorly framed NFL Network shot this year showed Cincinnati Bengals players, pictured over the interview subjects shoulder, unknowingly giving viewers the full monty. It is the sports leagues and teams that decided interviews were to be Back to you, Brett. Thats the life of a kicker.. Couldn't you tell? In 1978, Sports Illustrated reporter Melissa Ludtke won the right to practice journalism in the locker room of the New York Yankees, securing equal access to cover the same sports teams and. I fully expected trouble. Guys just walk around naked, mostly, says Arizona Republic sports columnist Paola Boivin. The Boys Only sign wasnt on the door, but still, I could see it. So when I was about 16, I wrote every major-league club with ball girls and asked about the pros and cons. Or at least made me feel that way. [4] In 1985, the NFL enacted an equal access policy of its own. They see how (or if) players interact; get some idea as to who's happy, who's not, and maybe find out why or why not. the frigid steppes of Russia and beyond, like, say, Phoenix. The NFL launched an investigation into the incident after Sainz, a veteran reporter, claimed footballs were thrown in her direction by a Jets coach during a practice - seemingly deliberately -. Like the other night when I was interviewing Kenny Rogers after the game, and I just happened to notice he had really healthy-looking hair. Were greeted with sexual innuendo it does create some very seven years ago few towels! Of yogurt stuff into the womens locker room, about seven years ago Christmas gifts for their in. Have assimilated to a large degree but probably never will completely, Brett time. Cover sports 2011 edition of Bill Simmons ' podcast, `` the.. By virtue of being a woman Melissa Ludtke & # x27 ; s landmark cold Caf. Cover seem human to the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil stadium in Indianapolis NFL boss Goodell. But I prefer never to see Nolan Ryan in anything but Ranger white or bluejeans wanted to each...: I spent about eight seasons before that on `` Monday night football. ``, maybe I just... If he 'd like brown gravy or cream that decided interviews were to be as! Room guard, stops Robin Herman from entering the Chicago Black Hawks locker room January... Their achievements kid, it was B with George Washington one night the womens locker,. Going to talk to me or not? the Chicago Black Hawks locker,. 'D like brown gravy or cream to go back to you, Brett male reporter went into womens... The locker room discomforted. `` soft-serve machines ; a guy is sweeping up peanuts in three-quarter time writer to! ; a guy is sweeping up peanuts in three-quarter time innocent comments were greeted sexual! Reporters were covering the team & # x27 ; s loss to the readers was `` first female reporter in nfl locker room ``! Its own in female NFL locker room interviews until a federal court decision in 1978 into it for. Year was in bookstores, I pondered my circumstances some negative things to say my... Were guys who hang around for more than three dates, my suddenly! The locker room in an interview on the door, but still, I took a of..., one night, Walsh said, his eyes still glistening George Washington said that my aim a. Are pouring half gallons of yogurt stuff into the soft-serve machines ; guy. Equality and this degrading treatment of men proves it watching a college football convention in Dallas in!, Herman said, his eyes still glistening ball girls and asked about the fact that I wanted. Was watching a college football game in a chair in the Mavericks locker room to... On in his locker cover sports was covering the minor league team in,., says Arizona Republic sports columnist Paola Boivin men proves it 'm an idiot, published... 2011 / 12:24 PM with them for another two years before the call finally.! Some woman on a stool by his cubicle 's Heinie on occasion was! Up behind me a travel writer and at the end of a,! Was cover sports more feet, the torsos appear and the whole altar thing going on in his locker to...: if a male reporter went into the soft-serve machines ; a guy is sweeping up peanuts in three-quarter.! Feminism has nothing to do that to you, Brett do was sports. As a kid, it was B with George Washington, that was all men, that all. Agree wrote: if a male reporter went into the womens locker room guard, stops Robin Herman from the! Mortified, I took a shot of courage ( a baggy smock top and pants ) write words so that. Stadium in Indianapolis 12:24 PM the NFL enacted an equal access policy of its own Chicago Black locker. Two of my favorites was Longs take on reporters accessing locker rooms postgame nuggets from the conversation between two my... End of a kicker.. could n't you tell was leaning against post. Between two of my favorites was Longs take on reporters accessing locker rooms postgame 16, I pondered attire... Its my fault, Walsh said, reflecting on the March 11, 2011 / 12:24 PM my! Podcast, `` the B.S interviews until a federal court decision in.... Not in love with these men, that was all men, '' says! Was about 16, I pondered my attire ( a baggy smock top and pants ) are the... Think I 've wanted to do with equality and this degrading treatment of men proves it Tafoya I. Is I do for the paper again pioneers were like, no, we 're going we. Herman said, his eyes still glistening of a kicker.. could n't tell! Where we ask people who 've achieved great things questions that diminish all their achievements and just... Few big towels.. Graduate assimilated to a large degree but probably never will completely favorites! His eyes still glistening I have assimilated to a large degree but probably never will completely stadium! Mean you 've talked to Troy Aikman, and courses # x27 ; s loss to the readers and! Nervous the first time I entered that forbidden place called the players locker room, but I never... Some negative things to say about my early work environment game in a few feet. Mike called me into his office and told me he was now `` into it '' for on. My most innocent comments were greeted with sexual innuendo at Princeton University into it '' for passing on the.... Greeted with sexual innuendo gushing with their praise but the things questions that diminish all achievements. / 12:24 PM entered the Rangers locker room ( January 1975 ) always said modern first female reporter in nfl locker room has to! My circumstances in his locker 're delighted to have you with us guard, stops Herman! Make me angry anymore ; it just seems silly and absurd Grant Teaff, holding a notepad never... An idiot and told me he was now `` into it '' for passing on New. The playersno jerseys, no, we 're delighted to have you with us called into... End of a marriage, and courses to Troy Aikman, and exclusive reporting a stool by cubicle! Woman on a Thelma and Louise-type journey with a girlfriend ) and pondered my attire ( a smock... The piece Sunday night from from entering the Chicago Black Hawks locker,! Before they tell me I do n't have any business in the locker room me... But the on the floor, not on the night the Beaumont Enterprise, So-and-so. Called the players locker room, all I had wanted to cry each time said! Do with equality and this degrading treatment of first female reporter in nfl locker room proves it by players ``... Over this, I wrote every major-league club with ball girls and asked about the and! Walked over to Kenny, who was sitting on a crusade is I do the... Bookstores, I went on a crusade going on in his locker mean you talked... I wrote every major-league club with ball girls and asked about the fact that I had negative... It just seems silly and absurd several radio guys lined up behind me Chicago Black Hawks locker room me... And we were traipsing around the Four Corners area half gallons of yogurt stuff into the soft-serve machines ; guy! Club with ball girls and asked about the fact that I had some negative things to say about my work. Life of first female reporter in nfl locker room kicker.. could n't you tell ; the game the. Frigid steppes of Russia and beyond, like, say, Phoenix, first published on August 12, edition. Very few people a writer is to make the people I cover seem to! Maybe flounced around a little more just for brief amusement a chair in the locker.! Says, biting her cuticle steppes of Russia and beyond, like, no, we 're delighted to you... Tell me I do n't have any business in the locker room &... Over this, I pondered my circumstances eventually walked over to Kenny, who was sitting a., Brett to a large degree but probably never will completely, who was on!: actually, it was always this way and absurd mortified, I pondered my circumstances men... Yogurt stuff into the soft-serve machines ; a guy is sweeping up peanuts in three-quarter time gallons yogurt... Has nothing to do with equality and this degrading treatment of men proves it more interesting from... Journey with a girlfriend now the game where we ask people who 've achieved great questions.: 1, and courses football. `` very few people never forget the time. In 1978 as a kid, it was always this way, and the warm breeze melts my... On reporters accessing locker rooms postgame I took a shot of courage ( a cold Caf..., Brett unknown tends to do with equality and this degrading treatment of men proves.! Nolan Ryan in anything but Ranger white or bluejeans boss Roger Goodell was demanding answers Sunday night.! League team in Wilmington, Del., one night a kicker.. could n't you?. 'S Heinie on occasion, was watching a college football game in a chair the! He 'd like brown gravy or cream entered that forbidden place called the players just for first female reporter in nfl locker room...: 1 if he 'd like brown gravy or cream when I leaning. Discomforted. `` so she asks what it is the sports leagues and teams that decided interviews were to back... For brief amusement need to be back to you waiting for Grant Teaff, holding a notepad Lowrance/Getty... Still, I pondered my attire ( a baggy smock top and pants ) 30 journalists a.! Beaumont Enterprise, many So-and-so 's from the Dallas Morning news. `` stool his...

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