She has covered sports stories in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Japan, China, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. 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. It was also the Bear's last season. A new generation of sports writers has responded to this shift by increasingly using advanced metrics and digital tools to change the genre entirely. Lisa Olson is an American sports journalist. One day, she went unannounced to see an editor of the Boston Herald and asked for a job. 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. If female journalists are allowed into male locker rooms, then either male journalists should be allowed in female locker rooms or female journalists should not be allowed into male locker rooms. As I steamed over this, I took a shot of courage (a cold Starbucks Caf Latte) and pondered my circumstances. The latter are supposed to be more humorous than the former, though adulthood has taught me different. 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. She has also authored six books and was the first Texas Rangers ball girl. I hate to invade their pain and their anger and sometimes even their happiness. SAGAL: Michele Tafoya is the Emmy Award winning reporter for NBC's "Sunday Night Football," but she's spent time on basketball courts, softball diamonds, gymnastic mats and now public radio quiz show "Game Grids." Then it hits me: My job means I get to be around this game and write about it. Yeah. About 1986, there was a college football convention in Dallas. On this day in 1977, Melissa Ludtke was barred from reporting the World Series from the teams' locker rooms. Were you a football fan growing up? But the next year, I entered myself for the "Locker Room" piece, and no one could have been more surprised than me when editor Glenn Stout called to tell me I was to be included in the next edition. Hell, why do these guys need to come into the locker room to ask questions anyway? It was the last time I would ever try to interview Reggie. I always said modern feminism has nothing to do with equality and this degrading treatment of men proves it. NBA teams play 82 games a year, not including playoffs and preseason contests. As I stood outside the locker room, it hit me like a lightning boltwait a minute, Bill Plaschke was in there getting killer quotes and I wasnt! One even said, "You know you don't have to do this work," in a tone that sounded like Sting telling Roxanne she didn't have to put on the red light. SAGAL: B, George Washington himself went on a three-day bender there. You take a right turn before you have to walk straight into the naked men and the soap. "The Texas APME awards are out," he said. Should they be banned from locker rooms? 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 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. Take the blanket no-comment dished out by Dallas Cowboys star and alleged domestic abuser Greg Hardy after a game last year. The Liberty Line is owned and operated by TLL Sports LLC. In 1990, while working at the Boston Herald, she alleged that she was sexually harassed by New England Patriots football players in the team's locker room. Someone tugging on topics and successful in the rockets were reportedly had heartbreaking moments that female reporter in nfl locker room. And I make a beeline for my guy that I'm going to interview, and I'm walking up toward him. The following year, a federal judge struck down the MLB policy on 14th Amendment grounds. After I poured myself out in the "Locker Room" piece, I was a bit empowered. Before I could utter a word, he said, "Wait, let me rub it, it will get hard.". 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. And there, not 1,000 days after I had emerged from the darkness of the womb, hundreds of bright light bulbs made me squint as I watched the first half-inning of my life, the last three outs of a Spurs game. I won't even look in their eyes. 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. 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. It began when I was 3 and my daddy took me to Turnpike Stadiumnow Arlington Stadiumto see the old minor-league Spurs. I was covering the minor league team in Wilmington, Del., one night. I have one of the few jobs where the first thing people ask about is penises. Those years were perhaps the most trying. He kept muttering. My most innocent comments were greeted with sexual innuendo. But how was I supposed to do my job with all that crap going on? Olson later wrote a column apologizing to Wells for coming to his house during what was such an emotional time. She demanded the same access that male reporters had. She is currently involved in a court case to allow women reporters in sports locker rooms. It would be the last day ever for those white shoesand my first of many covering professional sports. So I remain cautious, probably overly cautious, about appearances. "Can I talk to you for a minute," I said. Heck, with 10 percent of the population homosexual, there's a good chance that some of the male reporters are homosexual as well. SAGAL: You're going to say B, he got back to London but couldn't be readmitted because he wasn't wearing a jacket and tie. Get two questions right, and you win our prize. I was 22 years old and the first woman ever to cover sports for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Team dressing rooms are typically open to journalists before or after practices and games. Mowatt was fined $12,500, the other two players $5,000, and the team itself $50,000, since no management had intervened at the time or immediately following. Ludtke and Time Inc. filed a civil rights lawsuit months later. 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. Olson worked as a sports columnist for the Daily News for ten years. Complete Coverage of Ines Sainz on Crimesider. 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. Alabama Phenix. It is the sports leagues and teams that decided interviews were to be As one of the first female reporters to be allowed inside the NFL locker room, she has been a pioneer in her field. I was ready to gnaw my way through the first one I saw that might have had the book in it. TAFOYA: But you do that all the time, don't you? So why are they going to think the reporter is any different at first? Nudity rarely bothered me, but I prefer never to see Nolan Ryan in anything but Ranger white or bluejeans. Keep your eyes on your own work Super Chief. [4] The Herald's then owner, News Corporation, offered to transfer her to Sydney, Australia, where she worked for The Daily Telegraph and the Sydney Morning Herald. In return for players giving up some privacy, media get a one-stop shop for all the color their audiences could want, while franchises reap the marketing benefits of near-daily publicity. That's something he'd say to anyone, I realized. Former Eagles defensive lineman and Super Bowl LII champion Chris Long made an appearance on Jeff Pearlmans podcastTwo Writers Slinging Yang. 7 players remain on Eagles latest injury Danny Green provides new insight on Tobias Interview: Former Eagles Super Bowl Champ, Chris Long, Joins Tom Segura on Tom Talks. And I gained 40 pounds. [1][3], After her graduation from college, she moved to the East Coast to attend graduate school, but she decided to pursue a career in sportswriting. If you can do that, they will accept you with open arms, and, actually, be on their best manners when you talk to them. I had to remind myself that I should probably look away. 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. But I learned to do news as well. I walked away shaking his hand, wishing him luck and noticed my hand wasnt trembling anymore and I was oozing confidence. Its my fault, Walsh said, his eyes still glistening. As she wrote in a post on her own blog, I found myself forced to muster Supreme Court-worthy arguments for an inane, He might not understand that I meant its thickness and shine were enviable. After a while, you just get used to nakedness and its all business. When a guy is naked, hes probably more honest than not.. She would later come to work at The Times as well. 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. 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. God, I can't believe someone didn't warn me, I thought. August 12, 2011 / 12:24 PM 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. She attended Apollo and Shadow Mountain high schools,[1] and graduated from Northern Arizona University's journalism program in 1987. I got in the car. Solutions . The old Never let them see you sweat adage was thrown out the window and I was dripping angst from my brow. Tell Me When It's Over is an interview series in which we ask former athletes about the moment they. In many ways, I had made a career choice when I walked through that locker room door. The dirty little secret I've discovered is how little men know about sports, since this is what men are supposed to know more about than women. Reporters dont wait for senators in the bathroom after important votes, or quiz the conductor of the New York Philharmonic as he puts on his cummerbund. The guys are much more formal in talking. TAFOYA: Yeah, I used to much more so in the NBA, and that's quite something. You get a really honest reaction, and thats what makes stories good. But of course that wasnt the case. Or like Brandon Grahams locker is next to mine, and he has 40 reporters around him, and someone is bumping into my naked ass. [4] In 1985, the NFL enacted an equal access policy of its own. She also was a national columnist for AOL's FanHouse sports website, and a columnist and the first woman in Sporting News' 120-year history to write the magazine's monthly back page. I can't understand the idiots who call the sports department and want to talk to a man on the phone instead of meor some guy who goes out of his way to spit Niblets on me. 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. That's before they tell me I don't have any business in the locker room. teams to grant her access and not all agreed quickly. 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. I ended up covering minor events full time, even doing the dreaded office score-taking work again. 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? The Mavericks were a delight to be around even when pissed off. I could see my worth resided within the confines of a B cup and size six jeans. They mostly acted like brats. Women will kick up a fuss about men being in a women's locker room, and men should do the same with women. Then I did something I had never done. Affirmative. She was previously a sports columnist for the New York Daily News, and the TAFOYA: So there I am, and I'm getting ready to go in, and this is the first time I've ever done this, and I'm just going to do some radio interviews for tape to take them back and turn them around, and I said to myself I had a rule I established before I went in. [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. Yeah, my ode to the old stadium won it all. I was doing that one recent day when a wet, naked body walked into my trance. He shook his head and said, "No, I didn't say that.". Jennifer Briggs has covered the Texas Rangers, Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Phillies, and Green Bay Packers. What does it really matter if the rest of the world knows? I don't like the double-standard we have with male-female divide. I've always considered the real hurdle of all this to be players' perception of me, not suppressing my thoughts. Not sports writing, but the best of every column written in the state that year. ADAM FELBER: Welcome back to You Disgust Me with Michele Tafoya. 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. Robin Herman, who as a hockey reporter for The New York Times broke a gender barrier when she became one of the first two female journalists to enter a men's professional sports locker room in North America, died at her home in Waltham, Mass. He was really mouthing off at me. The hamster in my mental Wonderwheel never seems to stop running, so my mind keeps a lot of thoughts going at once. Television. Well, Reggie Jackson was my first. If I never went in a locker room, it would have been fine with me, Ludtke said. The immediate response is curiosity: Do I get to go in the locker room? Or the periodic outbursts by Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook. SAGAL: But I want to know how you got from there. Here's your last question. 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. Being in the national spotlight was difficult and a little At first glance, it wasnt bad. Her work has been featured in the anthology, "The Best American Sports Writing". "He just doesn't" was suddenly sufficient and I knew a grown-up secret, like writing checks, making babies, or reading words. The rumor was bogus, but it planted an idea. One of the most sickening feelings I get is when I have to go interview some pitcher who's been shelled or some guy who is struggling at the free throw line or a coach who is on the verge of not being a coach. There were reporters all around the lobby of the downtown Hyatt, waiting for coaches to arrive after a golf game. SAGAL: How do you talk about sports for five hours without boring yourself to death? All-Star Game in Montreal. They havent had a lot of time to think about what to say, and theyre in a comfortable environment. Hey, this is pretty cool, I thought. I mean, I know how penises work. So when I was about 16, I wrote every major-league club with ball girls and asked about the pros and cons. ", OK, so game over and time to head back down to the clubhouse. But this was something else. Melissa Ludtke was 26 years old when all this took place. The hockey teams locker room isnt as rancid as expected. You can listen to the whole thing here. Ludtke said when Now, there are no F-bombs. Later that year, Olson and Sam Marchiano were reportedly subjected to a profanity-laced verbal tirade by New York Yankees pitcher David Wells when they approached him at his home to comment on his sudden trade to the Toronto Blue Jays for Roger Clemens. And there I was at the big red clubhouse door, dented and bashed in anger so many times it conjured up an image of stone-washed hemoglobin. But of course, he hadn't lost Fluffy; he'd found a woman in his locker room. And there was Reggie, in nothing but sanitary socks. Ken Dryden of the Montreal Canadiens talks to reporters in the locker room circa 1975 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. And he began reading. SAGAL: That's an interesting message for somebody who works for "Sunday Night Football" to send. "The locker room is the place where us guys, us football players, we dress, we shower, we're naked, we're walking around and we're bombarded by media," he told NBC Chicago. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. 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. Definite double standard here . And a few guys maybe flounced around a little more just for brief amusement. Maybe McDonald's was hiring. In a few more feet, the torsos appear and the warm breeze melts around my face. 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. Ludtke said she constantly reminded people that she never demanded to go in a locker room. Or go back to feature writing. Not just people while Im pulling my pants up. According to the Chicago Tribune, Briggs stands behind his comments. It was an area high school coach who routinely tried to get me to drop by his house when his wife was out of town; when I refused for the third time, he refused to provide any more than perfunctory answers to my story questions. Should women be allowed in locker rooms? I had been lobbying for this for a long time, so when the opportunity presented itself, I said Id The great baseball strike would occur late that summer, and baseball writers would end up covering youth soccer and swimming and the minor leagues. It was just one of those moments you want to hold for yourself. And now the game where we ask people who've achieved great things questions that diminish all their achievements. Jenny Kellner. The Ludtke case did NOT result in merely an order to allow equal access for female reporters to the Yankees locker room, but it ALSO ordered the Yankees to provide privacy for players whil. 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. He said this about three times. TAFOYA: Again, Charlotte, North Carolina, it's the Hornets hosting, because they were then the Hornets, hosting the Houston Rockets. As Orwell said, Everyone's equal, but some are more equal than others. Accuracy and availability may vary. I think about what it would be like to have them asking me every day, "Well, how about that really thrown-together graph there at the top?" But I can understand the athletes being naturally uncertain what to make of women, of me. Answer (1 of 4): After reading Carrie Rickey's answer, I have to say that no one ever gets this story right. 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. They knew I could write even the most boring stuff into something of interest. The reporters were covering the team's loss to the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. 1950) is an American sportscaster who worked for ESPN and NBC Sports beginning in 1987 until 1993. I'm sure he's been naked in the room where I was at some time. There was a sports editor who would stop by every time he saw me eating, stare at me, and say in all seriousness, "Jenn, if you get fat, we won't love you no more." And this was so long ago that the guy who opened the door said lady in the locker room. We got to Frank DeFord's comment at the end. Even in the relatively overlooked NHL, the New York Islanders draw about 30 journalists a game. Logic says they might not. Men treated like animals yet again. SAGAL: I got to ask you about the locker room. Copyright 2013 NPR. Raffy said, "Hey, he wants to talk to you," pointing to Kenny Rogers. It was critical no one smelled fear or I'd lose respect from the get-go. I was afraid of the unknown. Except she. instantly became the news and television cameras swung to them. A feature on the woman who washes the Rangers' clothes was not out of the question. Eagles rookie Jordan Davis explains biggest culture shock coming from Georgia to Philly, Former Eagle Chris Long praises Philly culture, sends message to current athletes, Rumor: Eagles locker room sold on Jalen Hurts, should be good for next week, DeVonta Smith explains McDonalds breakfast ritual to GQ, follows in Donovan McNabbs footsteps, Weekend Rips: The Declaration of Independence is one of many reminders of European inferiority, Sixers Have Shown Interest in Kings Stretch Big, Nemanja Bjelica, Eagles place 4 players on Reserve/COVID-19 list. "OK, you mean you've talked to Troy Aikman, and you didn't notice what a hunk he is?". He ran into a dark office where I found him hiding under the desk. The he got to a really big one"Best General Column Writing." 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. Your job is sort of provide on-field commentary. Many dressing rooms dont have such modicums of privacy, leaving players in the buff in front of reporters fishing for quotes. But I couldn't back out. SALIE: Do you have a minute for me, coach? Report", Jackie MacMullan reported that the fines were never actually collected from the players. He said he was 16. I said, "Raffy says you want to see me." So you've been in the Mavericks locker room? They havent had a lot of time to think about what to say, and theyre in a comfortable environment, Boivin says, differentiating the format from occasional post-game news conferences. They were reporters and looked young enough to remind me of my old daysexcept they weren't wearing white flats. Pleasure to have you. Late one night in spring training, one of my co-workers, also one of my best friends, called to read me something. There are a lot of times I want to compliment a player or make a personal observation, just because it's my nature, but my nature has to change for a moment because I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression about my intentions. I've never been on any campaign to debunk the myth that testicles are somehow inherent to a full understanding of balls. Api. But unfortunately, in north Arlington, this seems to be an enviable attribute on a par with big Dallas hair and coaching shorts as after-five wear. I did not want to smell the entire ride home, so I decided to take a shower. Female sportswriters won the legal fight, but there are plenty of cultural barriers to overcome. But I don't think it seems very logical to some of the other reporters. But hey, I was the center of attention on a baseball field; I could sell out for that. It seems logical to me. I think you'd need to show that male reporters are not allowed into female locker rooms to show a double standard. Service For. I like to think I've earned a little respect. 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. [Reporters] obviously need you to say some stuff so they can write their articles, said Islanders alternate captain Kyle Okposo, wiping his forehead with an already-drenched shirt. Host virtual events and webinars to increase engagement and generate leads. He remembered my chatting him up at lunch on Media Day, when I sat next to him and Brian Cushing and asked why the punt coverage was so porous with players not staying in their lanes, and how he was going to improve his turn over margin. He had a very reasonable take on how most players are butt booty naked when media members come in: Heres what Id ask, and I used to talk to Jeff McLane about this in Philly. I might have actually said, "Can we talk about how your face looks like one of those ear-shaped potato chips that the lady from the Lay's factory brings on The Tonight Show once a year? It doesn't make me angry anymore; it just seems silly and absurd. The Stacks is Deadspin's living archive of great journalism, curated by Bronx Banter's Alex Belth. 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. Those memories dont come cheap, of course. TAFOYA: I'm entering my third season for "Sunday Night Football. We've invited you here to play a game we're calling SAGAL: OK. I had started wandering longingly over to the sports department, just to talk about baseball. So I went about my business. Back then, almost 30 years ago, passion for the national pastime was an heirloom fathers passed to their sons. Alrighty then, time to search out the first player I wanted to talk toUSC quarterback Mark Sanchez. 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