first female reporter in nfl locker room

Late one night in spring training, one of my co-workers, also one of my best friends, called to read me something. 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. If they're usually not allowed in, I wouldn't expect the teams to apologize for enforcing normal rules. Many of the women they're aroundother than the reasonably stable ones like their wives and mothersare groupies. I had to go in. I won't even look in their eyes. 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. 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. So I went about my business. 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. Yes, I was that excited. Before a team got used to me, there might be some giggling each time someone made a smart remark or cursed loud enough to get you kicked out of the Watauga Dairy Queen. The next year, I was included as an honorable mention for two pieces. Samsung Pdf. MO ROCCA: Can I ask you, when you talk to the losing team, do you kind of put on, like, a nice mommy voice, or do you change your tone of voice? Graduate. A collage on the walls above them shows newspaper headlines and media coverage of famous victories, ringing the small dressing room like a halo. 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. I wanted to cry each time he said that. I was so happy I was almost crying, but I was trying to sound very nonchalant while Glenn was giving me the particulars. TAFOYA: There's another joke there, but (unintelligible). The game was boring. 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." When men gather at bars and golf courses and any of the other traditional salt licks for male bonding, do they ask the gynecologist what Mrs. Holcombe's hooters look like? A large portion of a reporter's job is coverage of cultural aspects. [5], On September 17, 1990, Olson was interviewing players in the Patriots locker room on a practice day. 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. SALIE: Men, that was all men, that was all men, sister. If he's uneasy, it's time to get out of the stirrups. There are postgame press conferences and media availability throughout the week. I seriously considered taking a job as a researcher for a law firm. 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. I got home, took a run and cleaned up and dressed for the ballpark, grabbed my go bag with computer, lipstick, notepads, pens, hairbrush, Altoids, and antacids and headed down I-30 to see what flak awaited me. He was really mouthing off at me. Women did not get equal access to post-game locker room interviews until a federal court decision in 1978. But the most moving were the ones who said something along the lines of, "Well, I just want you to know, if I ever had anything to do with any of that, I'm sorry. Service For. 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. SAGAL: Well, tonight, Michele Tafoya's special segment, What the Hell is Wrong With You People? Its a symbiotic relationship. I hate to invade their pain and their anger and sometimes even their happiness. I concluded my sports hiatus last year with a stint on a special projects news team, collaborating with another reporter on a series about Fort Worth's high infant-mortality rate. Then there was Everson Griffen, an underclassman defensive end who will be a big name next year and eventually on Sundays. bit scary, but I was very determined that this had to happen, not for me personally, but for all the young women who wanted to get into this profession. A, on Women's Day which is a holiday named after a magazine. We won some awards, and I gained some confidence and perspective. He. ", Because his reaction to my question was to begin raising his voice to say, "There's no time.". ADAM FELBER: Welcome back to You Disgust Me with Michele Tafoya. 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. And it's OK to spit your sunflower seed hulls on the floor. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Fueled by my own version of a life-affirming experience, I felt as though I was taking back 10 years of my life. But I must tell you, I find that being a reporter is so much easier than being a fan. OK, pre-game festivities concluded, I went back up to the press box to start writing some pre-game sidebar. People were calling from all over about the piece. I checked out Rey Maualugas locker, which resembles something out of that voodoo-worshipping slugger from the movie Major League. Back then, almost 30 years ago, passion for the national pastime was an heirloom fathers passed to their sons. For the first time in NFL history there will be two female coaches on the. She attended Apollo and Shadow Mountain high schools,[1] and graduated from Northern Arizona University's journalism program in 1987. I've wanted to write stories about baseball since I was 10 years oldto write words so good that people would read them twice. I remember hiding in a tree outside a North Dallas bank waiting for an SMU running back because we had heard this was where he picked up his money. God, I can't believe someone didn't warn me, I thought. So when I was about 16, I wrote every major-league club with ball girls and asked about the pros and cons. 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. NBA teams play 82 games a year, not including playoffs and preseason contests. She had few female colleagues in sports media to lean on. You know, it was like, "So-and-so from The Beaumont Enterprise, many so-and-so's from The Dallas Morning News.". Sanchez is a media-savvy guy, so I figured he would be a nice ice-breaker. Portis said he thinks a female reporter who has the access to see male football players naked is bound to get turned on. At first, I thought he meant on the job. In no other workplace in America are you expected to be putting your clothes on, and somebodys going to talk to you. Family trips in an egg-shell-white Impala to see the cousins in Plainview took fewer rough turns. I was doing that one recent day when a wet, naked body walked into my trance. Television. I said, "Listen, I have been covering this game since I was about two years older than you are so you can just shut it right now.". first female sports columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald, where she covered rugby union, Australian rules football, cricket and rugby league. Complete Coverage of Ines Sainz on Crimesider. 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. TAFOYA: I think one of the most - and again, I won't name names - but I remember doing an NBA game, and I was asked to go interview a player's wife in the stands about something. I began to cry. The bouncing, wide-eyed ball girl who wanted to write about baseball more than anything was gone, abandoned in increments on football fields, at locker room doors, in editors' offices, and on barstools. When the coveted Rangers beat came open, I was passed over. when she asked if he'd like brown gravy or cream. Event marketing. I corresponded with them for another two years before the call finally came. Take the blanket no-comment dished out by Dallas Cowboys star and alleged domestic abuser Greg Hardy after a game last year. I asked. 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 . But after getting home from school, I'd quickly skip back to the sports section of the evening Star-Telegram to compare my work to that of the pros. 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. TAFOYA: No, it is, but the emotional rollercoaster of being a fan, it's just not worth it. All she wanted was to be afforded the . Power your marketing strategy with perfectly branded videos to drive better ROI. Other summer nights we sat on the back porch and listened to the Rangers on the radio. [6] Sullivan observed Olson and determined that she was acting professionally, interviewing Maurice Hurst, but took no other action. Some readers had similar problems accepting a woman. They've both seen Patriot missiles up close." So everyone's kind of shuffling around. 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. I didn't want to be branded as some woman on a crusade. TAFOYA: Let me tell you about my first time. 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. 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. I stood in the Coliseums tunnel and was hesitant. The hockey teams locker room isnt as rancid as expected. The key is to gain the players respect and trust. ' Herman said. Keep your eyes on your own work Super Chief. Donna doesn't like politics, so she asks what it is I do for the paper again. Pearlman is a household name when it comes to sportswriters, and Long is one of the most beloved Philadelphia athletes in recent memory. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. 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. [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. Sure.. 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! Follow us on Twitter, @DeadspinStacks, or email us at thestacks@deadspin.com. Of the latest scores and many to. Its a professional setting, and if the reporter is professional, the whole experience is smooth as silk. Franchises are increasingly fielding their own media teams to produce game stories and video interviewsmeaning more softball questionsjust as metro newspapers are cutting back. And what if someone saw me in this state of trepidation? Oh sure, they may actually think I'm an idiot. In 1973 she was hired as the New York Times' first female sports reporter. Gerry Fraley of The Dallas Morning News was the only other writer in the press box. That's something he'd say to anyone, I realized. A simple no would have sufficed. I was creative and funny, but I just couldn't write, they'd concluded. 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. According to NBCChicago.com, Harris believes both members of the media and athletes should conduct themselves in a professional manner - gender aside. The Lisa Olson Incident, 20 Years Later: Today is the 20th anniversary of the Lisa Olson incident in the New England Patriots locker room, when the female Boston Herald sportswriter was sexually harassed by players Zeke Mowatt, Robert Perryman and Michael Timpson. But its the same answers to the same questions.. And of course, women everywhere want to know about that great walled fortress of wet boy flesh, the locker room. But some paranoia lingers. I had offered the story first to my sports editor, Mike Perry (standard newspaper policy). Indeed, athletes are increasingly coached on what to say to reporters in interviewsand what not to say. They were happy to oblige. 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. The biggest cultural difference between reporting on sport in the UK and across the pond is that everyone here is allowed into the locker-room. I think how cool it is to watch a stadium yawn to life. I retreated back behind the door before anyone could see me. Ms. Olson was reporting on the New England Patriots in 1990 when she was sexually harassed in the locker room. It was time to go back to the dream. One of my greatest honors. Im at work! TAFOYA: And so if they come up with any other days of the week, I'll be happy to try those, as well. It may have been his first night. I began to rummage through the large boxes until I found the one with my publisher's name on it. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. 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. (He was a recent addition to the team.) / CBS News. 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 went home and called my sports editor. The next year, I was booted because I couldn't do back flips. 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. many of her friends were going through similar, if much less public, struggles in fields like advertising and law and medicine. An SMU booster threatened to have my legs brokenand I was delighted. But the remarks still hurt. I like to think I've earned a little respect. Host virtual town halls, onboard and train employees, collaborate efficiently. Referring to the United States military's use of Patriot missiles during the then-ongoing Gulf War, Kiam said to the audience: "What do the Iraqis have in common with Lisa Olson? You see, folks in the world of sports weren't used to working with a "fee-male." Show More. Customers Modifications . The male athletes dont. SAGAL: Or C, Benjamin Franklin became the first and only member thrown out because of his horrible morals? But the reality was, a newspaper did not have space for the words or freedom on the finer nuances of body-part language. Theres a press area for that express purpose. He carried me to the back of the outfield wall and climbed the slatted boards with his right arm and clutched me in his left. All of my male media brethren went cruising into this sacred place, and then, there was only methe lone female reporter covering a USC football gamewaiting outside. At the same time, though, I dont think getting a glimpse at a players brat and potatoes is included in the information-gathering process. [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. Well, first of all, so now SAGAL: Describe your job. 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. We've invited Tafoya to play a game called "Enter at your own risk!" Oh sure, little stuff happened, like the time one of the Oakland A's made a big point of standing next to me naked in the middle of the clubhouse or one of the Los Angeles Raiders chucked a set of shoulder pads at my butt. I asked my question; he answered. NEW YORK (CBS) Everyone has an opinion about the recent incident involving the way Mexican reporter Ines Sainz was treated in the New York Jets locker room Saturday. Fear of the unknown tends to do that to you. And surely the Observer's reader demographics did not include most ballplayers and some stadium employees. And every once in a while I think about slatted billboards and a daddy's arms. She was 70. I ran out of material 10 minutes ago. On Sept. 25, 1978, a judge ruled that women should be allowed to enter locker rooms. Ive noticed the female athletes still get a closed locker room to shower and change today. That's before they tell me I don't have any business in the locker room. Unfortunately, they were working on a few things in that resort, which included labelling the male and female locker rooms. This is all very exciting. To begin, I want to point out that female reporters have every right to be in the locker room as male reporters do. Gayle Gardner (born ca. I wrote management repeatedly. [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. Couldn't you tell? ), "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? Eskenazi recalls an episode from the New York Jets locker room in 1988, when defensive end Mark Gastineau pulled down his pants to show Eskenazi a tattoo on his hind quarters reading Gitte, short for then-girlfriend Brigitte Nielsen. The Boys Only sign wasnt on the door, but still, I could see it. When the day finally came that she would break down a huge professional barrier, Robin Herman did not have much time to prepare. 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 . "The Texas APME awards are out," he said. The telephone poll conducted this week among 1,026 randomly selected adults nationwide found 59 percent of 556 women and 47 percent of 470 men said female reporters should be banned from NFL . Build a site and generate income from purchases, subscriptions, and courses. It reminds me of a debutante waking up in last night's party dress, reeking of beer. Mike called me into his office and told me he was now "into it" for passing on the piece. The reporters were covering the team's loss to the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. And theres going to be cameras. I broke several stories, one of which won a national award for investigative sports reporting. He was from Venezuela or the Dominican Republic, and guys from way south of here often start their careers as young as 16 or so. Or the periodic outbursts by Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook. Maybe I should write news or features because I'll never have the fortitude it takes to stay on your toes with one-liners and be tough enough to handle this. If you dont understand that, particularly as a woman, you might misinterpret it.. 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 . Several were guys who had been my superiors at one time or another and were just so gushing with their praise. The Major League Baseball season counts nearly twice as many, while the shorter NFL campaign sees much more focused media attention. I understand that uniformsunless they say, "Eb, your man who wears the star" on the lapelare a great aphrodisiac in contemporary culture. 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. The first thing I saw was four guys in a big shower. The reasoning behind this policy is that players are more likely to be relaxed and open with reporters after they have had a chance to cool down and take a shower. SAGAL: Here's your first question. 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 walked over to the corner where two guys from my hometown had their lockers. OK, so now it was home to take a run and try to clear my head of concerns about just what might be waiting for me at the ballpark. But back in 1975, Robin Herman, a 23-year old reporter for the New York Times, had been trying to get NHL teams to allow her access to locker rooms for a year, with no success. And blocked by virtue of being a woman Melissa Ludtke's landmark. So I didn't write. And yes, I was scared. When you've interviewed a 17-year-old mother whose daughter was stillborn for lack of prenatal care, how tough can it be to talk to a young pitcher who's lost to the Angels for lack of run support? Olson worked as a sports columnist for the Daily News for ten years. It might as well have been a water cooler. Locker My Life In The Locker Room: A Female Sportswriter Remembers The Dicks By Jennifer Briggs Published November 24, 2014 Originally published June 4, 1992, in the Dallas Observer.. By then, I had become accustomed to the nudity and byplay of the locker room. I can't tell you the bizarre arguments I've had with a few of these creeps who keep suggesting I become a teacher. It was like, you know, lady with a baby coming, lady in the locker room. The executive types weren't too hot on the idea. Getting the killer quote? I was amazed. Guys just walk around naked, mostly, says Arizona Republic sports columnist Paola Boivin. As Jones talked to reporter Albert Breer about the "nitty-gritty" of his team's latest triumph, the locker room hinterland showed at least seven players in various forms of undress, ranging . 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. The little pranksters had used a bowl or something to draw a "circle slash" over Ruben's crotch. Immediately, reporters started asking me, Are you going to do it? 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." I sat at some random desk to look busy for a while, which is what sportswriters do every week or three. 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. 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. SAGAL: Michele Tafoya, we're delighted to have you with us. I'd heard the stories: the tales of women who felt forced to make a stand at the clubhouse door; of the way you're supposed to never look down at your notepad, or a player might think you're snagging a glimpse at his crotch; about how you've always got to be prepared with a one-liner, even if it means worrying more about snappy comebacks than snappy stories. Her family were fervent sports fans. Still, most professional athletes also realize that allowing journalists into their sanctuary is a part of the job. 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?

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