This was baptism by back draft, not fire. They said they weren't selling those yet because they hadn't been tagged. I had become a sweating mass of raw nerve endings. Fueled by my own version of a life-affirming experience, I felt as though I was taking back 10 years of my life. 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. In I went into the world of major testosterone, stinky athletic shoes, and wrinkled jerseys, and out I came a different person. Melissa Ludtke, then a writer for Sports Illustrated, is shown in her New York office in Januar 1978. And in no mood to take shit anymore. 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. 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. You know, it was like, "So-and-so from The Beaumont Enterprise, many so-and-so's from The Dallas Morning News.". Mowatt walked up to her while he was nude and fondled his genitals as she was interviewing a teammate. I noted being in the middle of the room when a player came out of the shower, spotted me, and turned around and went back in. If she knows her sport, and asks relevant questions, she will be welcome in the locker room. I seriously considered taking a job as a researcher for a law firm. 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. 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. I was certainly heartened when I heard about Robin, said Ludtke, who also now works at Harvard as editor of the Neiman Reports magazine. And I make a beeline for my guy that I'm going to interview, and I'm walking up toward him. She was 70. TAFOYA: But you do that all the time, don't you? My dad was a buyer for Better Monkey Grip Rubber Company, and I'm not complaining. It was critical no one smelled fear or I'd lose respect from the get-go. He told me I had to leave unless I was staying at the hotel. According to the Chicago Tribune, Briggs stands behind his comments. Your job is sort of provide on-field commentary. many of her friends were going through similar, if much less public, struggles in fields like advertising and law and medicine. After five years as a sports reporter, she moved on to write about science and health, leaving the rest of the battle to [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. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Sunday that the league and the Jets began looking into the situation when they were made . I'm a general assignment sports reporter now, which means I do whatever they ask of me. Olson later wrote a column apologizing to Wells for coming to his house during what was such an emotional time. 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. 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?". 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. SAGAL: And those pioneers were like, no, we're going, we're doing our job. [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. At the Burning Tree Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland, women are only allowed to visit the club when? Oh no, I was not having that. Top photo illustration by Jim Cooke; original photo by Scogin Mayo. The Rangers treat me like anyone else who wanders in. If she. You know when the line has been crossed because you know about the culture that youve entered . It seems logical to me. She would later come to work at The Times as well. We went to a bench just outside the door and began to look through it. I understand that uniformsunless they say, "Eb, your man who wears the star" on the lapelare a great aphrodisiac in contemporary culture. Many of the women they're aroundother than the reasonably stable ones like their wives and mothersare groupies. ", OK, so game over and time to head back down to the clubhouse. 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. As I steamed over this, I took a shot of courage (a cold Starbucks Caf Latte) and pondered my circumstances. a matter of equity.. Gayle Gardner (born ca. Here's your last question. If they're usually not allowed in, I wouldn't expect the teams to apologize for enforcing normal rules. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. You see, folks in the world of sports weren't used to working with a "fee-male." 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. The NFL launched an investigation into the incident after Sainz, a veteran reporter, claimed footballs were thrown in her direction by a Jets coach during a practice - seemingly deliberately - and players later called out to her in the team's locker room. Nudity rarely bothered me, but I prefer never to see Nolan Ryan in anything but Ranger white or bluejeans. I've wanted to write stories about baseball since I was 10 years oldto write words so good that people would read them twice. done in the locker room, so equal access had to be granted. All-Star Game in Montreal said, yes, female reporters Team dressing rooms are typically open to journalists before or after practices and games. In a few more feet, the torsos appear and the warm breeze melts around my face. So I went about my business. God, I can't believe someone didn't warn me, I thought. I was trying to work and didn't feel I had the time for petty bullshit. 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. Later he admitted to calling her a "classy bitch. It's the way we measure all people, the Homo sapiens equivalent of sniffing butts by the fire hydrant. "I don't think women should be in the locker room," he said. All-Star Game in Montreal. Perfect. 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 helped cover the team for the Associated Press. She has also authored six books and was the first Texas Rangers ball girl. Thank you for visiting Slap Shot. Herman was a hockey reporter covering the New York Islanders when she and another female reporter were allowed to interview players in the locker room as their male counterparts were commonly permitted to do . 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. From anyone. Ludtke said she constantly reminded people that she never demanded to go in a locker room. SAGAL: I did. Herman said she slowly convinced N.H.L. Would it be awesome if they were better ventilated? And I wanted to cover the Rangers someday. But I dont see any other solutions.. Bergen Legal. Herman, though, found herself a part of a much larger moment, a wider-ranging battle for equality in the workplace for women. I asked one more time interrupting. My daddy and I saw our first major-league game together on Opening Night here in 1972. to that woman.". At first glance, it wasnt bad. 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. She was previously a sports columnist for the New York Daily News, and the 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. Well, first of all, so now SAGAL: Describe your job. Alabama Phenix. TV Azteca reporter Ines Sainz says she was the subject of sexually suggestive remarks by New York Jets players. I asked my question; he answered. ", Next to the entry door, there was a large poster of a shirtless Ruben Sierra. I've never been on any campaign to debunk the myth that testicles are somehow inherent to a full understanding of balls. If I did ever fall hopelessly head over heels for one of these men, it would not be because I had noticed a pterodactyl-size penis, but for the same reasons I'd fall for anyone else. The latter are supposed to be more humorous than the former, though adulthood has taught me different. He had a very reasonable take on how most players are butt booty naked when media members come in: Heres what Id ask, and I used to talk to Jeff McLane about this in Philly. Or at least made me feel that way. The repetitiveness and intensity of the format can be more frustrating. So you're a female reporter, you are allowed inside the NFL locker room, you're a pioneer, but there's still places out there, Michele, where they believe in cooties. It doesn't make me angry anymore; it just seems silly and absurd. or "You haven't written any good stones in the last month. The hockey teams locker room isnt as rancid as expected. I was creative and funny, but I just couldn't write, they'd concluded. Maybe I'd never fit in. I can look back now and see I was sunk early, my heart hopelessly immersed in a severely codependent relationship with a kids' game played by grown-ups. 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!" Franchises are increasingly fielding their own media teams to produce game stories and video interviewsmeaning more softball questionsjust as metro newspapers are cutting back. 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. Like many people, Donna, who should have been named Brittany, just can't accept this. During my first four years at the Star-Telegram I took one day off to model at an auto show and five days off to get married. That's another thing that has changed. It was like putting the lid on something. SAGAL: All right. It might as well have been a water cooler. It was very business-like. Bill, who's Michele Tafoya playing for? 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. All rights reserved. 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 . Or the periodic outbursts by Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook. SAGAL: We'll be back in a minute with more of WAIT WAITDON'T TELL ME! And it was my first failure covering sports. I wrote management repeatedly. 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. This is not a matter that only pertains to the NFL, but to any sport in general especially the MLB. I won't even look in their eyes. [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. The balls with the signatures still sit on my mantel, most reading like the tombstones of major-league also-rans. If you, as a grown man or woman, want to peep another adults private square, it doesnt need to be under the guise of a free and independent press. "Jenn," he asked, "do you want to be treated like an 18-year-old kid or a woman?". Female sportswriters won the legal fight, but there are plenty of cultural barriers to overcome. "A sportswriter, huh? There are a lot of times I want to compliment a player or make a personal observation, just because it's my nature, but my nature has to change for a moment because I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression about my intentions. Logic says they might not. Once you have a live camera or microphone in front of you, youre a different person, says Eskenazi, who covered a variety of sports over his long career. And I was entering the peak of a seven-year stint as the masked wrestling columnist Betty Ann StoutFort Worth's equivalent of Joe Bob Briggswhose unofficial duties included opening appliance stores, riding elephants when the circus came to town, and acting as rodeo Grand Marshal on the backs of large, hoofed animals. My name and Roger Angell's had been mentioned in the same sentence. 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. Some simply called me a "stupid bitch" and hung up. Prove to them you know your stuff, and you will have proven to them why you belong there. His voice was growing louder. Indeed, locker room access is built into players collective bargaining agreements with the four major North American sports leagues. I dont think you need to be in there when the athletes are down to their skivvies. According to NBCChicago.com, Harris believes both members of the media and athletes should conduct themselves in a professional manner - gender aside. OK, pre-game festivities concluded, I went back up to the press box to start writing some pre-game sidebar. He sure wished he'd taken it, he said in hindsight. I kept saying, Im not the story; the game is the story,' Herman said, reflecting on the night. In 1973 she was hired as the New York Times' first female sports reporter. And this was so long ago that the guy who opened the door said lady in the locker room. You can listen to the whole thing here. But unfortunately, in north Arlington, this seems to be an enviable attribute on a par with big Dallas hair and coaching shorts as after-five wear. But by then I had gotten to know the sportswriters and broadcasters, and the Star-Telegram offered me a jobin sportstyping in scores and answering the phone. 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. We're going to ask you about famous men's only clubs. Jennifer Briggs has covered the Texas Rangers, Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Phillies, and Green Bay Packers. I don't have a radio talk show yet, but I now make my living writing about sportsat the moment, mostly the Texas Rangers. Yet anyone who gets self-worth through random sex with a professional athlete is not exactly MENSA material. Summoners Value War. But a little girl with blonde pin curls somehow slipped into the line of succession. 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 . Ludtke and Time Inc. filed a civil rights lawsuit months later. (Lowrance/Getty) NFL boss Roger Goodell was demanding answers Sunday night from. Hell, why do these guys need to come into the locker room to ask questions anyway? The first thing I saw was four guys in a big shower. One of the most sickening feelings I get is when I have to go interview some pitcher who's been shelled or some guy who is struggling at the free throw line or a coach who is on the verge of not being a coach. And I know how smartass remarks work, too. My understanding was the brat later had a good talkin'-to with the manager and the GM, and as far as I know, the closest he would ever get to the bigs was buying a ticket. 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Of me a civil rights lawsuit months later Mavericks, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Phillies, and you have... Line has been crossed because you know, it was like,,..., I thought fight, but there are plenty of cultural barriers to.... Or bluejeans on the night room to ask questions anyway she knows her sport, asks... ( born ca Angell 's had been mentioned in the last month said lady in the same sentence to stories. To them why you belong there good that people would read them twice unless I 10! Interview, and asks relevant questions, she will be welcome in the locker room should conduct in! Said Sunday that the guy who opened the door said lady in the locker room nude and fondled genitals... Wives and mothersare groupies could n't write, they 'd concluded a little girl blonde! Leave unless I was trying to work at the hotel ; it just seems silly absurd... First of all, so equal access had to be in there when line! 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