But I learned to do news as well. You can listen to the whole thing here. If I never went in a locker room, it would have been fine with me, Ludtke said. After criticism, Kiam apologized for the joke two days after he had told it. I somehow persuaded them to open it and sell the book to me. or "You wrote a good piece, Jenn, but then your headline writers let you down at the end; what does that feel like?" I walked away shaking his hand, wishing him luck and noticed my hand wasnt trembling anymore and I was oozing confidence. Well, when I finally exited the windy heat of the Texas summer and entered the sanctum of the little air-conditioned room for the press elevator, I fooled with my bangs, which were all over my head, tugged at my knee-length shorts, pressed the "up" button, and turned to the elderly gentleman in charge of checking passes, who was saying, "Jennifer, I saw your story in the Observer.". The Downing part of it, as the guys who would later be a part of The Ticket said, was because, "He wouldn't hit a girl, so we'll go in behind you. Why? The other night, there were two girls in the clubhouse after the game. 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. 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 can't be in here now.". Perhaps most importantly, the emphasis on real-time news gathering, be it through video or social media, puts athletes on their guard. When the coveted Rangers beat came open, I was passed over. Michele Tafoya, welcome to WAIT WAITDON'T TELL ME! 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. They knew I could write even the most boring stuff into something of interest. I immediately got a call from Gayle Reaves, a founder of the Association for Women Journalists. SAGAL: Michele Tafoya is the Emmy Award winning reporter for NBC's "Sunday Night Football," but she's spent time on basketball courts, softball diamonds, gymnastic mats and now public radio quiz show "Game Grids." Logic says they might not. others. Event marketing. It was time to go back to the dream. And you know, that was the last I ever heard of it from anyone on the team. I did not want to smell the entire ride home, so I decided to take a shower. I hate to invade their pain and their anger and sometimes even their happiness. Do they want to know if it's hard for him to keep his professionalism with his hand inserted in some babe's bodily cavityand whether it's scary? Quite normal, nothing harmful. The reporters were covering the team's loss to the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. I was nervous the first time I entered the Rangers locker room, about seven years ago. TAFOYA: a player sitting next to him says, ma'am, could you just turn around and let the man put a towel on? But a little girl with blonde pin curls somehow slipped into the line of succession. If necessity of deadlines or getting to someone before another reporter called for it, sure, I'd talk to Oral Roberts's 900-foot Jesus naked, no matter where the crotch fell. One of my greatest honors. 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. I was in some pretty heavy company. TAFOYA: But still, tune in each Sunday night. And this was so long ago that the guy who opened the door said lady in the locker room. [4], On April 25, 1991, Olson filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts state court against the Patriots, Kiam, Sullivan, Oldham, and the three players (Mowatt, Timpson, and Perryman), alleging violations of her civil rights, sexual harassment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and intentional damage to her professional reputation. She impressed her supervisors, and the paper hired her as a paid sports journalist. The next year, I was included as an honorable mention for two pieces. I like to think I've earned a little respect. He glanced sideways, kind of sneered, and stuck his head back in his laptop. SAGAL: That's what you do. SAGAL: The club was famed for its beverage known as Fish House Punch, which according to legend was so potent, it knocked George Washington out of commission for three days. ADAM FELBER: Welcome back to You Disgust Me with Michele Tafoya. TAFOYA: No, it is, but the emotional rollercoaster of being a fan, it's just not worth it. Dressed in a pair of virgin white flats, I trudged through the Arlington Stadium tunnela conglomeration of dirt and spit and sunflower seeds, caked to the walkway like 10,000-year-old bat guano at Carlsbad Cavernsdreading the task before me. It was critical no one smelled fear or I'd lose respect from the get-go. I spun around and walked outpast the staring faces, through the red door, down the 10,000-year-old bat-guano tunneland emerged into the dugout and the light of the real world, where I was nothing but a kid reporter who didn't get the story. So what? If you dont understand that, particularly as a woman, you might misinterpret it.. I had started wandering longingly over to the sports department, just to talk about baseball. I've never been on any campaign to debunk the myth that testicles are somehow inherent to a full understanding of balls. Graduate. Sanchez is a media-savvy guy, so I figured he would be a nice ice-breaker. Hell, why do these guys need to come into the locker room to ask questions anyway? 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. He said this about three times. SALIE: Like gee, coach, it's not going so well, is it? I don't have a radio talk show yet, but I now make my living writing about sportsat the moment, mostly the Texas Rangers. 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. As she wrote in a post on her own blog, I found myself forced to muster Supreme Court-worthy arguments for an inane, They will look at her as one of the guys if she doesn't act like a chick. He said I was loitering. he demanded. We laughed and remembered when Desmond Reed finally scored a touchdown and he lit up telling me, I couldnt even enjoy it. The sexism row over a female sports reporter who was allegedly harassed in the New York Jets locker room was reignited last night after a Fox NFL analyst claimed she was 'asking for it.' Her tires were slashed, she received hate mail and death threats, and her apartment was burglarized. As of 2013, she was working as a freelance writer.[1]. Theres a press area for that express purpose. Then Kevin Brown left the team and that whole bunch became as nice as could be. Kids at the tanning salon want to know if I date the players. My dream of covering professional baseball seemed further away than ever. I wanted to know these 4 things: 1. 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. It's just before batting practice, about 4:30 p.m. Team dressing rooms are typically open to journalists before or after practices and games. I can't understand the idiots who call the sports department and want to talk to a man on the phone instead of meor some guy who goes out of his way to spit Niblets on me. "Can I talk to you for a minute," I said. 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. OK, pre-game festivities concluded, I went back up to the press box to start writing some pre-game sidebar. I kept saying, Im not the story; the game is the story,' Herman said, reflecting on the night. And I have shared that with very few people. Their job as a reporter is to get instant reaction from a player after the game has concluded. TAFOYA: One time, I found myself - and I had a co-host normally - one time, I was solo, and I found myself reading to my audience out of the newspaper TAFOYA: because I had run out of material. Locker room interviews that take place after professional sports . I had become a sweating mass of raw nerve endings. Absolutely. Someone tugging on topics and successful in the rockets were reportedly had heartbreaking moments that female reporter in nfl locker room. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Sunday that the league and the Jets began looking into the situation when they were made . Oh no, I was not having that. Mortified, I pondered my attire (a baggy smock top and pants). 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. It's not a place for socialising. The rest is all overrated. I asked. SAGAL: Now, why is that because being a reporter seems like a hard job? The MBL, NBA and NFL followed shortly after, and in 1990 all associations allowed women in the locker rooms. We've invited Tafoya to play a game called "Enter at your own risk!" So why are they going to think the reporter is any different at first? The potential downside of the setting, meanwhile, is obvious: A poorly framed NFL Network shot this year showed Cincinnati Bengals players, pictured over the interview subjects shoulder, unknowingly giving viewers the full monty. There are postgame press conferences and media availability throughout the week. I stood in the Coliseums tunnel and was hesitant. The great baseball strike would occur late that summer, and baseball writers would end up covering youth soccer and swimming and the minor leagues. (He later apologized in a newspaper ad, while denying using crude language. I was covering the minor league team in Wilmington, Del., one night. It seems in those years I was the only writer who could converse with Julio Franco and Brian Downing. And here I'd been hoping for a controlled rollout on this thing. Staggering snowfall in California mountains leaves residents trapped for days, SpaceX launches new crew to space station, Video shows deadly Greek train crash as station boss admits "error", Blinken, Lavrov meet briefly as U.S.-Russia tensions soar, Prosecution wraps case at Alex Murdaugh murder trial, White House cybersecurity strategy pivots to regulation, Explosive found in checked luggage at Pennsylvania airport, feds say, Rape kits from two women lead to arrest in 1979 murder of one of them, Several hospitalized after Lufthansa flight diverted to Dulles due to turbulence. He let me do it. We understood the importance this held.. 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 . And yes, I was scared. TAFOYA: Yeah, I used to much more so in the NBA, and that's quite something. 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 balls with the signatures still sit on my mantel, most reading like the tombstones of major-league also-rans. It seems logical to me. Copyright 2013 NPR. I could see my worth resided within the confines of a B cup and size six jeans. This Is Why Female Sportswriters Can Go in Men's Locker Rooms Melissa Ludtke, a writer for Sports Illustrated, is shown on the job in her office in New York, Jan. 23, 1978, when she was. SAGAL: I thought I'd bring you on and see what you had. Late one night in spring training, one of my co-workers, also one of my best friends, called to read me something. TAFOYA: You know what, though, timing is everything, and I think I sort of followed the floodgates that were opened by Lesley Visser and Robin Roberts. "That's possible," he replied. And in no mood to take shit anymore. He could not allow me to bother the guests. Bell bottoms hung over my head as I berated Tom Landry for not getting rid of Mike Clark or praised Roger Staubach the way little kids now get all slobbery over Nolan Ryan. But I must tell you, I find that being a reporter is so much easier than being a fan. Ludtke said when Women will kick up a fuss about men being in a women's locker room, and men should do the same with women. She was a travel writer and at the end of a marriage, and we were traipsing around the Four Corners area. He told me I had to leave unless I was staying at the hotel. He sure wished he'd taken it, he said in hindsight. ", TAFOYA: I spent about eight seasons before that on "Monday Night Football.". I admit, some days even the UPS guy looks awful good. Like a lot of kids starting out, I'd do office work all week and help cover games on the weekendsanything for a chance to prove my worth as a sportswriter. Gardner later moved on to NBC,. A large portion of a reporter's job is coverage of cultural aspects. All-Star Game in Montreal said, yes, female reporters At the same time, though, I dont think getting a glimpse at a players brat and potatoes is included in the information-gathering process. when she asked if he'd like brown gravy or cream. They wouldn't let him in the club, so he finished his journey on the steps. SAGAL: Absolutely. We went to a bench just outside the door and began to look through it. SAGAL: How do you talk about sports for five hours without boring yourself to death? Ludtke said she constantly reminded people that she never demanded to go in a locker room. Api. KURTIS: She did great because she got two right. They said they weren't selling those yet because they hadn't been tagged. We may earn a commission from links on this page. In return for players giving up some privacy, media get a one-stop shop for all the color their audiences could want, while franchises reap the marketing benefits of near-daily publicity. I was in the visiting clubhouse waiting to interview one of the Oakland A's this year when one of the players called, "Here, pussy"as though he were calling a cat. The players didn't know I'd grown up with games or that my best friends had usually been crude guys or that I could open a beer bottle with my incisors or that I liked to fish as much as they did. (She had tried to do the same thing at the Boston Globe, but could not get past security.) When a guy is naked, hes probably more honest than not.. Couldn't you tell? For the first time in NFL history there will be two female coaches on the. As I steamed over this, I took a shot of courage (a cold Starbucks Caf Latte) and pondered my circumstances. SAGAL: So you came back, and you're like, well, I just talked to the coach of the losing team, and he suggested certain things that were anatomically impossible. Leaking testosterone and reeking of beer, a Jethro Bodin-esque character sidles up and asks what I do. 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. She was a member of the first class of women at Princeton University. They havent had a lot of time to think about what to say, and theyre in a comfortable environment. Yes, I was that excited. Access issues aside, broader changes in the media environment have begun to change the content of locker-room interviews, presenting a more chronic problem for many sports journalists. It was quite apparent who the poor influence was on that side of the barn. Yet all the time I was still dreaming up stories to get me to the ball park. Reporter Beth Ruyak stands holding a mircophone in front the NFC Locker Room before Super Bowl XXV with the New York Giants against the Buffalo Bills. Not just people while Im pulling my pants up. Getting the killer quote? I have no idea why, except that Nolan Ryan and my daddy are my heroes, and I just have no need of seeing either one of their white heinies. One was about the sad tale of the career of David Clyde. I left my stuff in the press box and went downstairs, sandals sticking in last night's gooey beer puddles as usual, as I entered the tunnel to the field. So do you know about sports?" SAGAL: OK. Gordon Robertson, locker room guard, stops Robin Herman from entering the Chicago Black Hawks locker room (January 1975). Lisa Olson is an American sports journalist. David Cone, Wells's teammate, gave Olson and Marchiano Wells's address. 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 what if someone saw me in this state of trepidation? We got to Frank DeFord's comment at the end. I went into the girls' locker room by mistake, and considering it was a room with open showers in one area, I was in for a real surprise. I'm going to look at their eyebrows when I talk to them because that will make sure that I'm focused there, and I can never be accused of looking anywhere else. This is not a matter that only pertains to the NFL, but to any sport in general especially the MLB. It gets a lot worse than the predictable . Jennifer Briggs has covered the Texas Rangers, Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Phillies, and Green Bay Packers. ", Next to the entry door, there was a large poster of a shirtless Ruben Sierra. In the arbitrary world of newspaper politics, the arrival of a new sports editor breathed life into my career. a matter of equity.. "Do you think I am a prostitute?" "Well, I have talked to Troy Aikman," I say, and one woman bites down hard on her blow-dryer and rolls her eyes as though she's just gotten the high school quarterback in spin-the-bottle. [6] Sullivan observed Olson and determined that she was acting professionally, interviewing Maurice Hurst, but took no other action. I had to remind myself that I should probably look away. [6] Several of the players subsequently taunted her by walking naked in her presence, making vulgar comments and gestures. And blocked by virtue of being a woman Melissa Ludtke's landmark. TAFOYA: Well, you have to maneuver around that. "The Texas APME awards are out," he said. I cant really think of something else thats similar to this, Bailey said. Covering major league baseball fulltime is my goal. 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. Then there was Everson Griffen, an underclassman defensive end who will be a big name next year and eventually on Sundays. And it's OK to spit your sunflower seed hulls on the floor. It was like putting the lid on something. My daddy and I saw our first major-league game together on Opening Night here in 1972. And then you've got this woman who comes in to interview them, maybe with big hair and a short skirt too, depending on the humidity and what's off at the cleaners that day. SAGAL: That's an interesting message for somebody who works for "Sunday Night Football" to send. 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. "It's the same as a man in the locker room to me.". Ludtke and Time Inc. filed a civil rights lawsuit months later. Cripes, maybe I should just wait til they all get dressed before talking to them? [7][8], Eventually, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue ordered an investigation under the aegis of former Watergate scandal prosecutor Philip Heymann;[5] the 60-page report concluded that Olson was "degraded and humiliated." And that gives coaches and players less control over the story., Still, for most mainstream sports journalists, venturing into locker rooms remains a basic necessity to stay competitive. I dont really think about it. I didn't want to be branded as some woman on a crusade. 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? About two yards down, I see legs behind the batting cage. 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. Raffy said, "Hey, he wants to talk to you," pointing to Kenny Rogers. 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." But there's a strange sort of comfort in feeling that if they think I'm an idiot, it's probably not because I'm a woman but because I'm just acting like an idiot. He might not understand that I meant its thickness and shine were enviable. It would be the last day ever for those white shoesand my first of many covering professional sports. And then there's the guyalmost any guy in any bar in townwho subjects me to a sports-trivia quiz during the usual getting-acquainted foreplay. to that woman.". The next day, another player told Eskenazi it was a joke. The immediate response is curiosity: Do I get to go in the locker room? teams to grant her access and not all agreed quickly. The most puzzled responses to my job come from the friends and acquaintances in my personal life. Several were guys who had been my superiors at one time or another and were just so gushing with their praise. Mike called me into his office and told me he was now "into it" for passing on the piece. I used to write Dallas Cowboys columns in blue Crayola on a Big Chief tablet in the part of my sister's walk-in closet I had designated as the press box. In fact, after 10 minutes in a locker room, you dont notice anyone naked. I was doing that one recent day when a wet, naked body walked into my trance. Friends at Bible study ask if the players are mean to me. Fueled by my own version of a life-affirming experience, I felt as though I was taking back 10 years of my life. The Boston Herald offered her a transfer to Australia, where she would work for the Daily Telegraph in Sydney, which Olson accepted. And I know how smartass remarks work, too. I have one of the few jobs where the first thing people ask about is penises. On Tuesday, Portis told 106.7 The Fan that both players and female reporters have wandering eyes when the sexes are mixed in a locker room setting. She won numerous writing awards during her time with the Daily News, including "Best Sports Reporting" by the Society of Professional Journalists. "He just doesn't" was suddenly sufficient and I knew a grown-up secret, like writing checks, making babies, or reading words. By then, I had become accustomed to the nudity and byplay of the locker room. Would it be awesome if they were better ventilated? He shook his head and said, "No, I didn't say that.". But the point is that you don't even think much about people being naked after a while, and unless you have some peculiar reason for remembering, you don't know who you have seen naked because they all kind of waltz in and out of the shower naked, just one wet butt covered with soap film after another. Once I stopped and they looked up, so I started spinning around in circles. I was so pissed over that (excessive celebration).. Olson was born and raised in the metropolitan area of Phoenix, Arizona. 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. Ill never forget the first time I entered that forbidden place called the players locker room. [1][3], After her graduation from college, she moved to the East Coast to attend graduate school, but she decided to pursue a career in sportswriting. Your job is sort of provide on-field commentary. Originally published June 4, 1992, in the Dallas Observer. But the reality was, a newspaper did not have space for the words or freedom on the finer nuances of body-part language. God, I can't believe someone didn't warn me, I thought. I told her I hadn't heard about it, but would let her know, assuring her I would be the last to know if I had been fired. I was 22 years old and the first woman ever to cover sports for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Sometimes I'd turn the sound down on the TV and try to do baseball play-by-play, too. I understand that uniformsunless they say, "Eb, your man who wears the star" on the lapelare a great aphrodisiac in contemporary culture. It began when I was 3 and my daddy took me to Turnpike Stadiumnow Arlington Stadiumto see the old minor-league Spurs. I helped cover the team for the Associated Press. It was supposed to be about the fact that I had some negative things to say about my early work environment. ", Because his reaction to my question was to begin raising his voice to say, "There's no time.". They see how (or if) players interact; get some idea as to who's happy, who's not, and maybe find out why or why not. done in the locker room, so equal access had to be granted. A kidI mean, really a kidstarted telling me women had no business in the locker room. But much of the early abuse came from the place I least expected itmy own paper. teams to allow her and other women reporters access to athletes in the postgame locker room when, unexpectedly, the two coaches at the 1975 N.H.L. I was down there to see the guy turn off the lights for the last day game. [4] Robert Perryman did the same while her back was turned. Hopefully we can ditch this weird practices permanently in 2022. Eagles rookie Jordan Davis explains biggest culture shock coming from Georgia to Philly, Former Eagle Chris Long praises Philly culture, sends message to current athletes, Rumor: Eagles locker room sold on Jalen Hurts, should be good for next week, DeVonta Smith explains McDonalds breakfast ritual to GQ, follows in Donovan McNabbs footsteps, Weekend Rips: The Declaration of Independence is one of many reminders of European inferiority, Sixers Have Shown Interest in Kings Stretch Big, Nemanja Bjelica, Eagles place 4 players on Reserve/COVID-19 list. Ive noticed the female athletes still get a closed locker room to shower and change today. "May I talk to you?" TAFOYA: So I went to Charlotte, North Carolina, and I did five hours of sports talk radio every day, and that was my SAGAL: That is the hardest job in the world. instantly became the news and television cameras swung to them. Was I stared at? [12], In 1998, Olson returned to the United States to be with her gravely ill father and took a position with the New York Daily News.[1][9]. SAGAL: Did somebody drop some profanity on you? No one did or said anything off-color. Scoreboard: Caps Ovechkin Outdoes Pens Crosby and Malkin, Rangers First Pick Is One With Ties to the Islanders, Devils Work a Trade So They Can Select Brodeurs Son, Islanders Make Deal With Wild Before Selecting a Defenseman in the First Round. If they're usually not allowed in, I wouldn't expect the teams to apologize for enforcing normal rules. Like many people, Donna, who should have been named Brittany, just can't accept this. A collage on the walls above them shows newspaper headlines and media coverage of famous victories, ringing the small dressing room like a halo. Bill, how did Michele do on our quiz? Women did not get equal access to post-game locker room interviews until a federal court decision in 1978. Then there was the time we had a story about an SWC coach paying players, and I appeared one morning at the school where he was an assistant. Prove to them you know your stuff, and you will have proven to them why you belong there. What does it really matter if the rest of the world knows? By that time I had moved east to cover the Phillies. [11] On February 24, 1992, her attorney said that Olson had settled the lawsuit on undisclosed terms. Later that year, Olson and Sam Marchiano were reportedly subjected to a profanity-laced verbal tirade by New York Yankees pitcher David Wells when they approached him at his home to comment on his sudden trade to the Toronto Blue Jays for Roger Clemens. And size six jeans arbitrary world of newspaper politics, the emphasis on news. Night Football. `` was passed over WAIT WAITDO n't tell me I kept saying Im... A shirtless Ruben Sierra that she was a member of the few where... 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Become a sweating mass of raw nerve endings hours without boring yourself to death, because reaction!, tune in each Sunday night ad, while denying using crude language of,!, her attorney said that Olson had settled the lawsuit on undisclosed.! Their happiness still get a closed locker room interviews until a federal court decision in 1978 all... Practice, about 4:30 p.m locker room, so I decided to take a.... To WAIT WAITDO n't tell me have been fine with me, Ludtke said she constantly reminded people that never. Sometimes even their happiness perhaps most importantly, the arrival of a,! 'D bring you on and see what you had or social media, puts on. 'D been hoping for a minute, '' he said and raised the. The door said lady in the locker room the reporter is to get instant reaction a! A life-affirming experience, I went back up to the press box to start writing some pre-game.... Because his reaction to my question was to begin raising his voice to say, `` Hey he... Was time to think the reporter is any different at first for `` Sunday night if someone saw in.