Locker room privacy ??

[shrader]

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

 

however, i also understand:

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

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

 

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

[Bufcomments]

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

 

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

 

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

exactly

 

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

 

Woman like that are dangerous to the men species lol

[RkFast]

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

 

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

 

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

 

Im seeing that reported now, yes.

[Delete This Account]

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

 

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

 

I'm quite happy, not to worry!

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

 

jw

[DrDawkinstein]

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

[papazoid]

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

 

jw

 

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

[truth on hold]

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

Edited September 15, 2010 by Joe_the_6_pack

[RkFast]

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

If that "offensive", I give up.

[BuffaloBill]

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

[billsfreak]

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

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

[truth on hold]

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

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

Edited September 15, 2010 by Joe_the_6_pack

[Lori]

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

 

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

 

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

[billsfreak]

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

You forgot "Hit and Run"

[Lori]

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

[Mr. WEO]

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

 

jw

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

 

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

[Captain Caveman]

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

 

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

 

Would you get out of here already?

[DrDawkinstein]

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

 

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

 

 

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

 

If that "offensive", I give up.

 

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

[SwampD]

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

 

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

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

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

 

Also, everything in television is a publicity stunt.

 

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

[BuffaloBill]

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

 

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

 

 

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

Edited September 15, 2010 by BuffaloBill

[Rob's House]

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

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