I don't have a radio talk show yet, but I now make my living writing about sportsat the moment, mostly the Texas Rangers. We've invited Tafoya to play a game called "Enter at your own risk!" She has also authored six books and was the first Texas Rangers ball girl. Even when one is naked. The latter are supposed to be more humorous than the former, though adulthood has taught me different. 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. Like, I understand getting the whole story for your readers. Olson's ordeal was mentioned (although without her name, referring to her only as "a Boston Globe reporter") in the Sports Night Season One episode "Mary Pat Shelby," in which Natalie Hurley was assaulted in a locker room by football star Christian Patrick. Still, most professional athletes also realize that allowing journalists into their sanctuary is a part of the job. At first glance, it wasnt bad. Television. And there I was at the big red clubhouse door, dented and bashed in anger so many times it conjured up an image of stone-washed hemoglobin. A few feet in, I realized a hall ran in front of the showers. ", TAFOYA: I spent about eight seasons before that on "Monday Night Football.". People were calling from all over about the piece. I want you guys here when I make the game-winning kicks, and I realize that I got to have you guys here when I miss them. He was really mouthing off at me. He could not allow me to bother the guests. "OK, you mean you've talked to Troy Aikman, and you didn't notice what a hunk he is?". Industrial-size hampers, home to growing mounds of moist practice jerseys, sit on each side of the cramped chamber in its Syosset, New York, training facility. The only way a female reporter can do her job in a locker room is if the players dont look at her as a chick. The first thing I saw was four guys in a big shower. SAGAL: And is this something you always wanted to do? Lately I've just started saying I'm a secretary at Wolfe's Nursery. Kids at the tanning salon want to know if I date the players. The reporters were covering the team's loss to the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. SALIE: Like gee, coach, it's not going so well, is it? I was ready once again to be the greatest sportswriter who ever lived. But some paranoia lingers. She would later come to work at The Times as well. But instead, the man who is an idol to thousands of children launched into a verbal tirade loudly insulting my intelligence and shouting for someone to remove me from the clubhouse. August 12, 2011 / 12:24 PM One of my greatest honors. Oh, Lord. A collage on the walls above them shows newspaper headlines and media coverage of famous victories, ringing the small dressing room like a halo. 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. Leaking testosterone and reeking of beer, a Jethro Bodin-esque character sidles up and asks what I do. Three female reporters were denied access to a NFL locker room this weekend, because of their gender. I stood in the Coliseums tunnel and was hesitant. Some nights I walk out the back door where all the wives are waiting, and they stare at me strangely, as though they think I'm the woman Cosmo warned them about or something. There was no fallout at the paper. [6] Several of the players subsequently taunted her by walking naked in her presence, making vulgar comments and gestures. Lisa Olson is an American sports journalist. 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 yes, I was scared. The most puzzled responses to my job come from the friends and acquaintances in my personal life. I told him. So is it awkward for you? We laughed and remembered when Desmond Reed finally scored a touchdown and he lit up telling me, I couldnt even enjoy it. At the same time, though, I dont think getting a glimpse at a players brat and potatoes is included in the information-gathering process. Those years were perhaps the most trying. The misconceptions about the atmosphere are overrated. Always Al Newman, and he's always smiling because he's kind of happy to be here too. Male reporters are allowed in locker rooms both before and after games. I fully expected trouble. And his eyes got to be like the size of paper plates because what I didn't notice was that he was buck naked. I admit, some days even the UPS guy looks awful good. teams to grant her access and not all agreed quickly. He was home and reading stuff on the wire, as we called it at the time. Its a symbiotic relationship. Olson is a member of the Baseball Writers' Association of America and is a Hall of Fame voter. 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. Locker room access gives reporters at least some insight into team dynamics. After several female sports reporters discussed the level of sexual harassment that they faced in the sports industry with Sports Illustrated in 2015, SI revisits the topic in 2017. But then Donna likes the men she meets at Baja. All she wanted was to be afforded the . [2] She was the sports editor of her high school and college newspapers. Portis said he thinks a female reporter who has the access to see male football players naked is bound to get turned on. Then, just as I walked in the door, it struck me that I was five feet, three inches tallabout the height of an NBA crotch. You're the sideline reporter. In exchange for their candor I have agreed to keep them anonymous. TAFOYA: I adored football growing up. Then he held my head over the top of the wall in center. A female reporter conducts post-game interviews with members of a men's soccer team in the locker room. One editor in the chain of sports command kept trying to get me to check into the Worthington Hotel with him after work. Check out some of our favorites so far. I sent copies of their responses to the Rangers' front office. Would it be awesome if they were better ventilated? In the arbitrary world of newspaper politics, the arrival of a new sports editor breathed life into my career. The National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the National Football League barred women reporters from entering men's locker rooms when women first . NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Guys just walk around naked, mostly, says Arizona Republic sports columnist Paola Boivin. TV Azteca reporter Ines Sainz says she was the subject of sexually suggestive remarks by New York Jets players. Most of the men I've dated certainly don't know about the social fraying of America or why it might be at all amusing that a guy named Fujimori is in charge of Peru, so you'd certainly hope they knew some inane facts about NFL rushers. (I'm serious, they really ask this. [9] Couldn't you tell? a matter of equity.. I think you'd need to show that male reporters are not allowed into female locker rooms to show a double standard. Friends at Bible study ask if the players are mean to me. Or the periodic outbursts by Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook. There were nights in the stands, too, where, just so I could enjoy the game more, my daddy patiently tried to teach the basics of scoring to a child not yet versed in addition. I ended up covering minor events full time, even doing the dreaded office score-taking work again. Being in the national spotlight was difficult and a little 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. [6], After Olson complained, describing the experience as a "mind rape",[4] team owner Victor Kiam allegedly described her as a "classic bitch." Unfortunately, they were working on a few things in that resort, which included labelling the male and female locker rooms. The incident is considered by many to be a watershed moment for women in sports journalism. Fueled by my own version of a life-affirming experience, I felt as though I was taking back 10 years of my life. So what? New York Jets owner Woody Johnson personally apologized for the team's behavior. [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." He shook his head and said, "No, I didn't say that.". Oh sure, they may actually think I'm an idiot. TAFOYA: Yeah, I used to much more so in the NBA, and that's quite something. Ludtke and Time Inc. filed a civil rights lawsuit months later. Instead of saying so-and-so is a good player, and heres a quote, I include some Vines and GIFs to show why hes so good, says Kevin Trahan, who writes for Vice and SB Nation. Gordon Robertson, locker room guard, stops Robin Herman from entering the Chicago Black Hawks locker room (January 1975). ")[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. And here I'd been hoping for a controlled rollout on this thing. It was just one of those moments you want to hold for yourself. SAGAL: I was just thinking about with the NBA, it would be more difficult because you need to think about what would be at eye level in that situation. Melissa Ludtke was 26 years old when all this took place. I can't tell you the bizarre arguments I've had with a few of these creeps who keep suggesting I become a teacher. By Adrienne Jones. When I was 14, I heard from a friend that the Rangers would soon be hiring ball girls. first female sports columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald, where she covered rugby union, Australian rules football, cricket and rugby league. TAFOYA: There's another joke there, but (unintelligible). 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. 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 . But on top of it being my first foray behind the red door, I was scared because of who I was interviewing: a superstar with a surly streak. It gets a lot worse than the predictable . SALIE: And so are these large, strong men in the best shape of their lives naked? The NFL is condemning remarks made by Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis concerning female reporters in the locker room. The he got to a really big one"Best General Column Writing." . `` Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis created on a few things in resort! 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