And it was my first failure covering sports. Host virtual events and webinars to increase engagement and generate leads. Ill never forget the first time I entered that forbidden place called the players locker room. agree wrote: If a male reporter went into the womens locker room, all hell would break loose. But there are still places out there where they believe in cooties,. Herman, then a 23-year-old reporter for The New York Times, had been trying for a year I dont think you need to be in there when the athletes are down to their skivvies. Oh equality indeed. Solutions . So I didn't write. I explained again that I was a sportswriter waiting for Grant Teaff and pointed out other reporters, all men, around the lobby. The he got to a really big one"Best General Column Writing." I feel like because we get paid so much money, and were such macho dudes that everybody is like, fuck em.. TAFOYA: So there I am, and I'm getting ready to go in, and this is the first time I've ever done this, and I'm just going to do some radio interviews for tape to take them back and turn them around, and I said to myself I had a rule I established before I went in. Gayle had heard the Fort Worth Star-Telegram higher-ups had had a meeting that morning regarding my continuedor discontinuedemployment. The dirty little secret I've discovered is how little men know about sports, since this is what men are supposed to know more about than women. I told him. I might have actually said, "Can we talk about how your face looks like one of those ear-shaped potato chips that the lady from the Lay's factory brings on The Tonight Show once a year? The documentary was about female sportswriters' struggles to gain access to male locker rooms in order to be able to do their jobs. And yes, he gave me a pat on the shoulder afterwards. It was an area high school coach who routinely tried to get me to drop by his house when his wife was out of town; when I refused for the third time, he refused to provide any more than perfunctory answers to my story questions. Suddenly it all made sense: the way the numbers went across in a line on a scoreboard, what the three numbers at the end of the nine meant, even why the shortstop didn't have a bag. Its a bizarre world that weve come to live in. That's something he'd say to anyone, I realized. According to the Chicago Tribune, Briggs stands behind his comments. Donna doesn't like newspapers either. There was no fallout at the paper. 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. Like many people, Donna, who should have been named Brittany, just can't accept this. You're the person they throw down to as SAGAL: And you've got the reports in the sideline, well, this guy's injured, well, this guy feels this way. ")[5] Later, on February 4, 1991, at a male-only sports banquet in Stamford, Connecticut, Kiam told the attendees a crude joke about the incident. I seriously considered taking a job as a researcher for a law firm. Now almost everyone had stopped watching football and was watching me and Reggie. Jerseys are on the floor, not on the playersno jerseys, no name tags, just toweled dudes walking around. Then there was the occasion Rangers manager Doug Rader spat corn on me after I asked a dumb question. 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." instantly became the news and television cameras swung to them. And you won't believe this, and I swear it's true: the immediate response of three women who don't even like sports outside of bungee jumping at Baja is, "You've seen Ro Blackman naked?". One of the more interesting nuggets from the conversation between two of my favorites was Longs take on reporters accessing locker rooms postgame. She was 70. Portis said he thinks a female reporter who has the access to see male football players naked is bound to get turned on. Ludtke and Time Inc. filed a civil rights lawsuit months later. 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. It seems in those years I was the only writer who could converse with Julio Franco and Brian Downing. But I had a deadline. Maybe I didn't belong here. to persuade N.H.L. I've been around long enough now that if they see me turn away, they probably know it isn't because I'm scared or intimidated. Report", Jackie MacMullan reported that the fines were never actually collected from the players. The reporters were covering the team's loss to the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Her work has been featured in the anthology, "The Best American Sports Writing". Here's your last question. Donna is a good argument for euthanasia. teams to grant her access and not all agreed quickly. No one seems to know when the first female Equipment Manager was hired. I immediately got a call from Gayle Reaves, a founder of the Association for Women Journalists. We lived in Arlington, about five miles from the ball park. SALIE: Men, that was all men, that was all men, sister. The Mavericks were a delight to be around even when pissed off. [1], Beginning in the 1970s, when increasing numbers of women sought to enter the field of sportswriting, female sportswriters faced frequent discrimination, harassment, and intimidation. January 5, 2022 1 Former Eagles defensive lineman and Super Bowl LII champion Chris Long made an appearance on Jeff Pearlman's podcast Two Writers Slinging Yang. As one of the first female reporters to be allowed inside the NFL locker room, she has been a pioneer in her field. She was a travel writer and at the end of a marriage, and we were traipsing around the Four Corners area. I'm sure he's been naked in the room where I was at some time. ADAM FELBER: Welcome back to You Disgust Me with Michele Tafoya. 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 . I told the PR guy that I sure hated to bring this up, but there was no place for the way this guy was acting. Was I stared at? To begin, I want to point out that female reporters have every right to be in the locker room as male reporters do. 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. A three-part series on Ruth Ryan, spouse of Nolan, turned into a delightful three-week chore that included stops at the Ryans' ranch in Alvin and the stadium. Unfortunately, they were working on a few things in that resort, which included labelling the male and female locker rooms. Olson worked as a sports columnist for the Daily News for ten years. "Are you going to talk to me or not?" ", OK, so game over and time to head back down to the clubhouse. I was so happy I was almost crying, but I was trying to sound very nonchalant while Glenn was giving me the particulars. So is it awkward for you? 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. But she still gets recognized as the girl who went in the locker room first. 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. But of course, he hadn't lost Fluffy; he'd found a woman in his locker room. My name and Roger Angell's had been mentioned in the same sentence. Samsung Pdf. essentially logistical problem that could easily have been solved by a few big towels.. 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. 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 did not want to smell the entire ride home, so I decided to take a shower. All-Star Game in Montreal. or "You haven't written any good stones in the last month. I have one of the few jobs where the first thing people ask about is penises. TAFOYA: There's another joke there, but (unintelligible). Before I could utter a word, he said, "Wait, let me rub it, it will get hard.". Copyright 2013 NPR. I began a one-kid campaign to institute ball girls at Arlington Stadium as well as to become the first. It doesn't make me angry anymore; it just seems silly and absurd. Its a professional setting, and if the reporter is professional, the whole experience is smooth as silk. It had been less than a decade earlier, in 1990, that Boston Herald reporter Lisa Olson had been sexually harassed by players in the New England Patriots locker room who exposed themselves. They wouldn't let him in the club, so he finished his journey on the steps. The Rangers treat me like anyone else who wanders in. All-Star Game in Montreal said, yes, female reporters All most know how to do is bitch about the Cowboys and Mavericks and Rangersabout their (a) record, (b) salaries, (c) coach or managerand praise the "kick-butt" barbecue they make before watching 18 hours of football on Sundays. New York Jets owner Woody Johnson personally apologized for the team's behavior. I asked forand receiveda transfer back to sports. Mine, firmer. And of course, women everywhere want to know about that great walled fortress of wet boy flesh, the locker room. It's been 46 years since the first women entered a professional locker room when two female reporters were allowed to conduct after-game interviews in the locker rooms at the 1975 N.H.L. And my rule will be I will only look at their eyebrows. Or go back to feature writing. 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. SAGAL: Do you do that because I've wondered about that? She is currently involved in a court case to allow women reporters in sports locker rooms. And I make a beeline for my guy that I'm going to interview, and I'm walking up toward him. 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. I asked Reggie, as everyone watched and listened. 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. Several were guys who had been my superiors at one time or another and were just so gushing with their praise. They used to have us dance to the "Cotton-Eyed Joe" in the seventh inning, and for a while we shook pom-poms during ralliesacts I now, as a baseball purist, consider heresy. If you can do that, they will accept you with open arms, and, actually, be on their best manners when you talk to them. The first thing I saw was four guys in a big shower. Fugitive in $18 million COVID fraud scheme extradited to U.S. Hunter who killed, skinned pet dogs says he thought they were coyotes, Ex-Georgia star Jalen Carter was racing in deadly crash, arrest warrants allege. Keep your eyes on your own work Super Chief. 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. The immediate response is curiosity: Do I get to go in the locker room? I got nothing left. It was the last time I would ever try to interview Reggie. If you dont understand that, particularly as a woman, you might misinterpret it.. [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. SAGAL: And some of the players were like, wait a minute, we don't want girls in here. [9] I walked over to the only Angel who didn't yet have on some form of clothing. Oh sure, they may actually think I'm an idiot. I try to explain, which is difficult because Donna and I are on different sexual wavelengths. If the locker room is where athletes can be themselves, that change may be the most challenging. But then Donna likes the men she meets at Baja. SAGAL: And is this something you always wanted to do? I dropped my plans to go to the University of Texas and study broadcasting. But hey, I was the center of attention on a baseball field; I could sell out for that. 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? About 1986, there was a college football convention in Dallas. And in no mood to take shit anymore. I had been officially baptized, and it was no big deal. I'll always remember that no one else laughed, for whatever reason, and that made me feel good. Its my fault, Walsh said, his eyes still glistening. It may have been his first night. She has covered sports stories in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Japan, China, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. Leaking testosterone and reeking of beer, a Jethro Bodin-esque character sidles up and asks what I do. But much of the early abuse came from the place I least expected itmy own paper. 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. 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. It was walking into the football locker room at the University of Texas in Austin and having a large man with burnt-orange pants and dark white face pick me up by my underarms and deposit me outside the door. I was leaning against a post, waiting for Grant Teaff, holding a notepad. You can't do this without asking about their dogs and their mom and what bugs them even worse than dropping the soap in the shower. All the culprits are either long gone or have actually apologized, saying they just didn't know better at the time. I felt like a cancer victim who was finally ready to give up the fight because it meant giving up the pain and humiliation. If he's uneasy, it's time to get out of the stirrups. I don't have a radio talk show yet, but I now make my living writing about sportsat the moment, mostly the Texas Rangers. That did it; now they were ready to call the police. People were calling from all over about the piece. So when I was about 16, I wrote every major-league club with ball girls and asked about the pros and cons. It's also tricky when you give one writer a piece that showcases him or her in very many words and photos. ", Next to the entry door, there was a large poster of a shirtless Ruben Sierra. 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