Reporters in the Locker Room

Why is there no common decency?

The media regularly oversteps the bounds of common sense and decency.  I personally find any reporter and or camera crew in a locker room at any time but more particularly immediately after a game to be offensive.

I don’t care what has been decided, by who or why. We know why money that’s why. Money = Publicity! As far as I am concerned it is an invasion of privacy no less than if I brought a camera crew into your bathroom, while you’re getting ready for work in the morning.

Should, John Q. Citizen go over to the local college or high school and wander into the girl’s locker room after a swim meet and expect to get away with that because he’s taking a poll?  NO.

How about a female teacher wandering in to a high school boys wrestling team’s locker room talk to while they shower and get dressed?  NO.

How about if a guy camps out in the women’s locker room of a health spa to do a time-study on women; how long it takes them to get cleaned up and how long it takes them to get dressed while asking questions about their work out?  NO… even if the spa management said it was ok.  If management tried to tell the patrons that they would lose rights to the facility if they didn’t participate, you and I both know that it would wind up in court and the activity would not be permitted.

How about if I camp out at your country club, spa or gym with a camera crew and a stop watch?  When 15 minutes are up, my crew with cameras rolling burst in and start a barrage of questions for you regardless of how you are attired or what you are doing?  Could I get away with this?  NO.

Now ask yourself why. Forget about loopholes and justifications and pretend we’re a society possessing a modicum of common sense for a minute?

Common decency?  Rights to privacy?  Invasion of privacy?  Do any of these things ring a bell?

It’s not about rights of access it’s about decency and rights of privacy.  I don’t even care if it’s a man interviewing a male team in the locker room; it’s still in the locker room. Male, Female it doesn’t matter it should not be permitted – regardless.  In my opinion a reporter of the opposite sex in the locker room is even worse but in reality there should be no media access at all!

So why is it OK for a bunch of greedy news reporters to burst into a locker room and video the team members?  Can anyone else do this?  The answer is NO; they would be arrested and rightfully so!

The argument about their being some rules to govern what the camera shows in not valid nor does it make the activity appropriate.  Cameras/media and non-team members in general shouldn’t be in there at all. We’ve even heard objections from the athletes.  Does anyone hear them?  NO. Does anyone in the government back up their right to privacy?  No.  If they scream too much or attempt to block the reporters, embarrass them out or do anything to keep the reporters out the athletes and team management are reprimanded, fined, fired or sued.

While conducting interviews in the New England Patriots’ locker room following an NFL game in 1990, a group of Patriots surrounded a female reporter and made aggressive, vulgar comments.  The players were later fined and the team’s general manager was fired for trying to cover up the incident.  Personally, I think they had the right to privacy.  They may have handled it poorly but they have the same rights we extend to a high school girls volley ball team locker room from being invaded.

Why is this, an issue at all?  Because money talks.  Why because we’re a society so obsessed with sports (even though most would have a stroke if they got out of their lazy boy recliners too fast) that we don’t care about anything decent or not.   Those reporters just have got to get that interview first.  No waiting for the rush as they leave! they might slip out the back and our competitor might get to them first!

Why can’t the media/reporters be expected to wait in a briefing room, in the hallway down the hall from the locker room or in the parking lot with the rest of the muggers?  Why can’t athletes expect the same rights and common decency we afford other people?

It’s not about the medias right to access they can have access after the team has left the locker room… It’s about the rights and decency we afford the athletes.

If you think you have an argument for this point of view I’d like to hear it after you apply it to the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 7th paragraphs in this article.