Reporters in sport locker rooms

[azgreen]

Check out Rick Reilly's newly posted ESPN column online about this experieces of encountering nudity in sports locker rooms and how some athletes flaunt it.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=reilly_rick&id=4534478

[MeBNude]

O.K., I don't read a lot of ESPN or other sports related materials, but this article was very funny.

Of particular education for me was this bit:


One afternoon, Jenny Kellner, then of the New York Daily News, was covering the Jets. She entered the locker room only to find one of the team's stars buck naked. He walked up to her, pointed to his babymaker and said, "Hey, Jenny, do you know what this is?"

"Well," Kellner answered, with perfect aplomb, "it looks like a penis. Only smaller."

Next time some exhibitionist on the beach is bugging me to look at his "babymaker" :laugh: I'm going to use the same line! :D

[Nu]

Jim Bouton,former Yankee and Mariner pitcher, wrote some great books, Ball Four,etc.

He writes of one other Yankee pitcher, who liked to sit on birthday cakes, in traditional birthday suit attire.

[jon71]

I don't get it. Back some years ago (first Gulf war was taking place) there was a "scandal" with a female sports reporter and a fuss about the nudity and boorish behavior she encountered in the Patriots locker room. There were jokes about "Patriot missiles" and "scuds" is how I remember the timing. I thought that after that most places built in a "media room" adjacent to the locker room to prevent incidents like that and allow the players to get at least somewhat dressed. I had assumed that was standard practice.

[660nryb]

In my opinion when a reporter goes to a courtrom to report they expect and accept people to be like lawyers, judges, law enforcment and litigaant. That is what the environment is, a court room. Why would people expect NOT to find athletes in a locker room using that room for what t is intended, taking showers unclothed. If you feel uncomfortable there, don't go there

[Aaron]

I think this topic is hilarious! being a younger male and always been apart of sports, we(the boys) have always played games involving embarassing one or makin awkward situations. Like someone else said earlier, These reporters are going into A LOCKER ROOM for gods sake. They deserve whatever they get as a joke or playfulness. Its not like theyre being sexually assaulted in my opinion.

[nudeM]

As a reporter interviewing in the locker rooms, there should be no surprise you would be seeing nude bodies. Let's just face it, that is their time to get cleaned up after a major sporting event, and for a reporter to be "surprised" by the sight of a nude body is just ludricous. The reporters are in the athletes place of preparing to be presentable for the general public, so some reporters will try to be the first to get the "big story". That's part of the job. You think some reporters go out of their way to get an interview in locker rooms knowing full well there are naked bodies around? I think so.:smoking:

[Fitz1980]

It's funny that whenever someone posts an article about women in men's locker rooms there will inevitably be some guy posting about how it's not fair since you don't hear about men in the women's locker rooms; but the simple reason for that is that most women's leagues don't allow reporters (male or female) in their locker rooms.

I've heard a quote from some female athlete musing about how her sport doesn't get much TV coverage. She said that perhaps they would actually make it onto Sports Center once in a while if they did allow reporters in the locker rooms and you had women giving post-game interviews in towels or bras & panties. The basic gist of her quote was that she'd be fine with changing clothes in front of reporters if it would mean the media actually covering her sport.

[westie]

I like Jenny Kellner quote

[MeBNude]

These reporters are going into A LOCKER ROOM for gods sake. They deserve whatever they get as a joke or playfulness. Its not like theyre being sexually assaulted in my opinion.

I agree completely, Aaron. That's the whole taking it "aplomb" or "in stride" thing. I wasn't trying to equate it to harassment... just that I should take the harassment with equal grace instead of getting bothered by it.

Then again, I doubt this would be the "joke" or "playfulness" that the same jock would use with a male reporter, no? :sneaky:

[northlondoner]

Reporters should not go into sport locker rooms, nor should cameras. What players and coaches say to each other should be private and sacrosanct, in the interests of competition and fair play.

[five9]

Great article! Im amazed that no negative comments were made about nudity which is great. And LOL at the Rick Pitino comment.

[gb]

Sacrosanct (Good Word)!!

[Agde]

Having been both on the reporter (including photography) and athlete (swimming) side of this, I kind of have mixed emotions. Frankly, having a chance for team camaraderie and to clean up a bit before facing the press is kind of nice. On the other hand, the instant commentary and emotion you catch in the locker room almost always makes for better reporting. Overall, I think as long as it is somewhat structured, it's just part of the business, especially at the pro level.

As for the gender of reporters, everybody knows each other so it is really a non-issue, and anybody out-of-line or who publishes something questionable, will never get in again. There's of course an accreditation process that can enforce certain standards. Even carrying a camera, I've had no problems in either-gender locker rooms because everybody knows the result will be correct.

Ultimately, athletes and reporters, even allowing for solidarity and scoop impulses, are working toward the same goal of creating suspense and excitement for competition.

[Ken Palmer]

This is not uncommon in regards to sports reporters. But here is the question I have here. How was that female reporter able to enter the men's locker with the possibility that one or more of the football players could have been stark naked and not be challenged or stopped? My contention is if that had been a male reporter entering a ladies locker room that way, there quite possiby would have been calls for his crucifixion simple because a male went into a female locker room. This is especially true if he would have encountered a naked female athlete the same way Jenny came across the Jets football player. I say this because I don't think a male reporter would even be allowed into a ladies locker room in the first place. Does anyone know if she got in any kind of trouble for that encounter out of curiosity?

Ken Palmer




Check out Rick Reilly's newly posted ESPN column online about this experieces of encountering nudity in sports locker rooms and how some athletes flaunt it.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=reilly_rick&id=4534478

[Fitz1980]

How was that female reporter able to enter the men's locker with the possibility that one or more of the football players could have been stark naked and not be challenged or stopped? My contention is if that had been a male reporter entering a ladies locker room that way, there quite possiby would have been calls for his crucifixion simple because a male went into a female locker room. This is especially true if he would have encountered a naked female athlete the same way Jenny came across the Jets football player.

The answer is that most female sports leagues wouldn't let reporters (male or female) into the locker room at all under any circumstances. That's why it became a matter for the courts, because the leagues let men come into the men's locker room and conduct post-game interviews and told women, who were just as much on the job as the men to "keep out."

Like I said most female leagues don't allow reporters in the locker room at all so as not to make an issue but if you want the flip side you have to turn to, ironically, the female dominated world of professional modeling.

Back stage at a fashion show you have everything from hair & makeup people to camera men and stage hands walking around the naked models. I knew a girl who did runway modeling when she was like 15/16 and she told me that nudity infront of guys was just part of the job. She didn't model nude but told me that it was not uncommon for the two 30-something guys who ran the shows, plus all manor of hair/makeup/stage people to be backstage casually talking about what she should do on the catwalk while she was standing around naked but for a set of shoes, while waiting for the seamstress to finish on her dress. Once the dress was done she's pull it over her head, do the catwalk thing and than come backstage and strip naked in front of whoever was there to change into her next outfit.

It was after she told me that when I realized that I was working in the wrong business, LOL.