Olson is a member of the Baseball Writers' Association of America and is a Hall of Fame voter. "May I talk to you?" 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? I was quite confused. Another superior had his assistant let me off early so he could be waiting for me in the parking lot. It doesn't make me angry anymore; it just seems silly and absurd. Bill, who's Michele Tafoya playing for? 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.. Logic says they might not. First Female Reporter In Nfl Locker Room. At the same time, my marriage began taking ugly, unspeakable turns. 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 was surprised to realize that some of the wounds still hurt. 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. 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. 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. Lisa Olson is an American sports journalist. Affidavit Sample Administrative. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. 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. The following year, a federal judge struck down the MLB policy on 14th Amendment grounds. TAFOYA: Yeah, I used to much more so in the NBA, and that's quite something. We still booted women took off the nfl reporter locker room in female reporter paola boivin felt a sports reporters are uncommon, adult . "All right, heck with it then," I said. SAGAL: He left the Reform Club, traveled around the world in 80 days, came back, ran up the steps, but he was not wearing a jacket and tie. It was critical no one smelled fear or I'd lose respect from the get-go. That's another thing that has changed. 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. TAFOYA: No, it is, but the emotional rollercoaster of being a fan, it's just not worth it. Sometimes we'd just watch any game on the TV. Donna is a good argument for euthanasia. Two Patriots had complained earlier to James Oldham, the team's director of media relations, and to Pat Sullivan, the team's general manager, that they believed Olson was, in the players' words, "a looker," someone who stood around the locker room not interviewing anyone. Then there was Everson Griffen, an underclassman defensive end who will be a big name next year and eventually on Sundays. better do it.. We were a middle-class family of four with one kid just a few years from college and another a few years from kindergarten. Will Saturday be the last game for Jason Kelce at Lincoln Financial Field? 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. Top photo illustration by Jim Cooke; original photo by Scogin Mayo. SAGAL: And those pioneers were like, no, we're going, we're doing our job. Yeah, my ode to the old stadium won it all. He still didn't answer my question directly. If my mom made us go to Wyatt's for supper, my father would wear his primitive Walkman through the serving line, once scaring the meat lady by hollering, "Dadgum Toby Harrah!" In exchange for their candor I have agreed to keep them anonymous. Long before I was allowed to eat fish with bones, could go all night without peeing in my bed, or understood Gilligan's Island wasn't real, I loved baseball. And he began reading. Well, first of all, so now SAGAL: Describe your job. I think how cool it is to watch a stadium yawn to life. NBA teams play 82 games a year, not including playoffs and preseason contests. Here I was in my white flats, some fresh-out-of-college madras plaid skirt, one of those ridiculous spiked hairdos with tails we all wore back then, and probably enough add-a-beads to shame any Alpha Chi. Sometimes I'm kind of quiet in a group interview, and I have this feeling other reporters will think it's because I'm a dumb ol' girl. 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. Yet I wonder. Franchises are increasingly fielding their own media teams to produce game stories and video interviewsmeaning more softball questionsjust as metro newspapers are cutting back. Had all that I'd put up with just been for nothing? SAGAL: How do you talk about sports for five hours without boring yourself to death? I have complained little through the years because the last thing I ever wanted to do was to single myself out from the guys. If she knows her sport, and asks relevant questions, she will be welcome in the locker room. And in no mood to take shit anymore. I was ready once again to be the greatest sportswriter who ever lived. What does it really matter if the rest of the world knows? I know people make sexual comments to one another, and they are not always inappropriate. I felt like a cancer victim who was finally ready to give up the fight because it meant giving up the pain and humiliation. He said he was 16. "I don't think women should be in the locker room," he said. About two yards down, I see legs behind the batting cage. I mean, I know how penises work. For days, weeks, months --. SAGAL: That's an interesting message for somebody who works for "Sunday Night Football" to send. 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. ADAM FELBER: Welcome back to You Disgust Me with Michele Tafoya. We lived in Arlington, about five miles from the ball park. About 1987, I got crossways with the sports editor. I kept saying, Im not the story; the game is the story,' Herman said, reflecting on the night. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. ), "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? The guys are much more formal in talking. 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. Indeed, locker room access is built into players collective bargaining agreements with the four major North American sports leagues. I had offered the story first to my sports editor, Mike Perry (standard newspaper policy). One editor in the chain of sports command kept trying to get me to check into the Worthington Hotel with him after work. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Indeed, athletes are increasingly coached on what to say to reporters in interviewsand what not to say. A feature on the woman who washes the Rangers' clothes was not out of the question. A male usher stopped three female journalists from entering the Jaguars locker room after their loss to the Colts because they were women, asking other men if it was OK before finally allowing . It is funny. Originally published June 4, 1992, in the Dallas Observer. God, I can't believe someone didn't warn me, I thought. But she still gets recognized as "the girl" who went in the. He was really mouthing off at me. Melissa Ludtke was 26 years old when all this took place. TV Azteca reporter Ines Sainz says she was the subject of sexually suggestive remarks by New York Jets players. ", I falter, and he complains, "Hey, I thought you said you knew sports.". ", Because his reaction to my question was to begin raising his voice to say, "There's no time.". 2 min read Independent media will not have access to locker rooms during the upcoming NFL. They were reporters and looked young enough to remind me of my old daysexcept they weren't wearing white flats. According to the Chicago Tribune, Briggs stands behind his comments. I really want to be as unobtrusive as possible, so I will turn away from someone who is dressing or, if I have the time, wait until he has put his shorts on before I approach. 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. And I wanted to cover the Rangers someday. 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. Well, Reggie Jackson was my first. Please enable JavaScript to experience Vimeo in all of its glory. I was covering the minor league team in Wilmington, Del., one night. 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 . I had to think as much about how to handle the next unwanted advance or suggestive quip as I did trying to figure the Mavericks' averages. Ludtke and Time Inc. filed a civil rights lawsuit months later. 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 asked forand receiveda transfer back to sports. I was afraid of the unknown. I got nothing left. New York Times hockey reporter Robin Herman was a trailblazer, breaking down gender barriers by becoming the first female journalist to interview players inside a men's professional sports locker room in the U.S. On Tuesday, her husband former Times editor Paul Horvitz told the newspaper that she passed away from ovarian cancer. It was quite apparent who the poor influence was on that side of the barn. But I was humbled by the honor. Kids at the tanning salon want to know if I date the players. The Herald editor offered her a position handling horse-racing agate. He ran into a dark office where I found him hiding under the desk. By now I wouldn't really notice if he'd worn a towel or hadn't. TAFOYA: I adored football growing up. SAGAL: Michele Tafoya, we're delighted to have you with us. Male reporters are allowed in locker rooms both before and after games. People were calling from all over about the piece. Needless to say, this was a must-listen from the jump. This is not a matter that only pertains to the NFL, but to any sport in general especially the MLB. SAGAL: Well, tonight, Michele Tafoya's special segment, What the Hell is Wrong With You People? Mr. October, known to be Mr. TAFOYA: Yes, on-field commentary, pre-game interviews, post-game interviews. But there are still places out there where they believe in cooties,. 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. ", Next to the entry door, there was a large poster of a shirtless Ruben Sierra. It began when I was 3 and my daddy took me to Turnpike Stadiumnow Arlington Stadiumto see the old minor-league Spurs. We're going to ask you about famous men's only clubs. [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. Her tires were slashed, she received hate mail and death threats, and her apartment was burglarized. TAFOYA: I'm entering my third season for "Sunday Night Football. many of her friends were going through similar, if much less public, struggles in fields like advertising and law and medicine. You know when the line has been crossed because you know about the culture that youve entered . I wanted to know these 4 things: 1. The New York Islanders arent shy about giving interviews in various stages of undress. 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. They wouldn't let him in the club, so he finished his journey on the steps. We never wanted for anything we really needed, but my parents, raised in the Depression, were cautious about spending. Even when one is naked. I'm a general assignment sports reporter now, which means I do whatever they ask of me. So I went about my business. For eight months, the editors refused to assign me any stories. Michele Tafoya is the Emmy award-winning reporter for NBC's Sunday Night Football, but she's spent time on basketball courts, softball diamonds, gymnastics mats and now public radio quiz show game grids. Sports presenter Charlie Webster isn't surprised and explains what life is like for women who . Many dressing rooms dont have such modicums of privacy, leaving players in the buff in front of reporters fishing for quotes. I was nervous the first time I entered the Rangers locker room, about seven years ago. The next year, I was booted because I couldn't do back flips. Definite double standard here . 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