From the Women in the Locker Room
By Lori Nickel of the Journal Sentinel
Sept. 15, 2010 1:15 p.m. |(6) Comments
I woke up today and it was 1990 all over again, only not the New England Patriots and Zeke Mowatt. But the Jets and a reporter I dont know.
I thought this story was blown out of proportion three days ago, but it seems to be gaining steam. So heres a blog for you to discuss the NFLs investigation in to New York Jets story involving a female reporter.
Look, mercifully, the real news started at 11:15 when the Packers take the practice field -- so if you dont want to deal with my nonsense below, by all means heed this warning now and move along to the good stuff football.
But here are my two cents as I discussed this with Doug Russell at WSSP 1250 and Mike Clemens of NFL Radio Sirius XM:
A part of me doesnt care what shes wearing or how she looks or where she works. The older I get, the more women I see come and go in this business and a part of me thinks any woman from any publication or network has a right to make a living. Especially for that brutal TV world where, in five years, there will be someone younger ready to take her place. So if being attractive while interviewing quarterbacks is how she pays her condominium dues, go for it.
The bottom line is that the select Jets players and coaches could have shown some class and kept whatever opinions they had of her to themselves. No matter what shes wearing. Please be careful in dumping all of the blame at her doorstep for dressing or acting provocatively. Do we think its OK to harass someone based on the color of their skin? What about their number on the scale?
Now of course I look like an elementary school art teacher next to someone like Ines Sainz (you cant run around a football field in heels, trust me), and have always dressed conservatively for a variety of reasons, one of them because I dont want to deal with this garbage. But thats not the point.
I dont think this reporter represents me or any of the other talented women reporters in our market. Or the countless national reporters I know who bring great coverage to our games. Its pretty clear when Paige Pearson breaks news about Jarius Wynn coming back to Green Bay, or Jen Lada is talking about Clay Matthews ability to shed blockers, or Jessie Garcia is getting Ted Thompson to open up, or Stephanie Sutton easily leaves her anchor seat to fill in on the D List that there is more than meets the eye to the regions top TV reporters. They know their sports. Period.
Now, OK, Im not crazy about the fact that Sainz is measuring biceps or sitting on players shoulders. I do hope she might consider dialing it down just so she doesnt get harassed any more. But then again she works in TV where sex appeal means better ratings, and who knows what her bosses are telling her. I once had an editor (not at the MJS) tell me use the fact that I was a woman to my advantage. I respected and admired this editor greatly but even in my early 20s I knew I wasnt capable of anything like that. But Im in print, no one cares what I look like. On TV? It is a whole different animal.
And, I feel protective of this reporter because weve all been there. Every female sports reporter has her stories. I wont bore you with all of mine. But I will tell you that when they happened, I told no one, not the team, not friends, not a colleague, not AWSM -- because I felt I needed to be tough and handle it on my own. And yes, I also felt determined to keep learning more about the game, so I could attain the respect I wanted.
Trust me though, if youve ever met a woman, you know a woman who has been harassed.
I can promise you that if I ever heard or saw any player bother any woman in the locker room, I would come to her defense. I would not tolerate it. We can deal with or debate the credibility issue later.
Russell, who talked with national reporter Christine Brennan on his radio show this morning about this, said most people arent justifying the harassment as OK based on what Sainz was wearing. He argues that the issue is whether or not she conducted herself as a respected, professional journalist. It doesnt excuse it, he says, but thats part of the debate. Doug also argues that PR departments should look at who theyre giving credentials to; not everyone gets a key to he castle, he says.
Clemens said the bottom line for him was whether Ines felt victimized. He points out that she did not complain of the harassment; another reporter did. Either way, the Jets players should not have been making cat calls.
Jen Lada will share her feelings on the whole issue tomorrow on The Broad Side on 540 ESPN, but told me today, Im disappointed this has become such a hot topic again. So many women, and sports reporters do an admirable, amazing even enviable job in this male-dominated field. This specific situation has a lot of variables that make it especially challenging to wade through. No person should be ever be subject to unwanted advances no matter the environment or attire. But Im always reminded of that old joke about advances from a hot co-worker being flirting and advances from a not hot co-worker being sexual harassment. I dont know Ms. Sainz or her intentions, assignments or tactics but I hope the ultimate outcome is the continued hiring of competent, strong hard working females in the business.
Jessie Garcia not only talked me in to posting this blog but shared her viewpoint.
When I think of female reporters in a male locker room I simply want to scream out two words: 'Be Classy!'," she said. "It's all so simple to me- dress with class, act with class. I cringe when I see women sitting a players' lap, measuring biceps or posting pictures of themselves wearing bikinis. A solid reporter should have no need to do these things. In television I have, unfortunately, seen too many people get a job based on looks not brains. Eventually the public sees through these people (I hope) but they may be a big hit for a short time.
"Do I have sympathy for anyone harassed in a locker room?," Garcia went on. "Certainly. I had an incident with the Cleveland Indians years ago. They were making cat calls and generally trying to make my life miserable. I was shocked. I had done nothing. I was simply there to get a few interviews before they played the Brewers. Only one player stood up to the group and told them to knock it off. I put his name here- Orel Hershiser- because I am still grateful for a bit of kindness that day. I wound up filing a complaint with the Indians' PR department. I know how it feels to be in that situation and no one should have to go through it. That being said, women going into a locker room should follow one basic rule in my book- dress in a professional manner and you'll almost never have to worry about it. Don't you want to be known for your words and your questions as a reporter and not your attire or your actions? I've been in this business 16 years and I'm proud to say the Indians incident is the only one I've had. I'm sure I'm thought of as matronly these days anyway and that's just fine with me.
"As for the overriding issue of whether women should be allowed in men's locker rooms at al l- here's my thought: If every team across every sport agreed to bring every player to a designated interview area immediately after they were done changing, great. But let's be realistic. What are the chances of that happening? Some players would slip away. That's problem number one. Number two -- you can't get a true feel for emotions in a sterile environment 30 minutes after they've showered. Win or lose, emotion is written all over someone's face in the locker room in the direct aftermath of a game. Men and women reporters need to be treated the same, with the same access, and thus the current system. Is it perfect? No. Do the best reporters make it work? Yes. Simply turn away and respect everyone's privacy until they're ready to be interviewed. Class, people. Class."
One more thing from me. Yes, I believe men should go in to womens locker rooms, for the WNBA, Olympics, whatever. And yes, I would really prefer not to go in to locker rooms. But the NFL and the players decided this way was best. Theyre busy, they want to get ready and getting 53 guys at their locker after a game is the quickest and most convenient way to get their thoughts rather than trying to arrange separate interview rooms. This system is the most fair for everyone, and gets the most information to the fans -- which is all that matters.
Im hoping itll be another 20 years before we have to go over this again.