# Women In The Locker Room **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 16, 2010, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-in-the-locker-room/553962 "2010-09-16T13:29:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-in-the-locker-room/553962/41 "2010-09-16T21:38:40Z")
> [@TheFifthYear](#): > > I’m of the opinion that no reporters, male or female, should be allowed in the locker room, full stop. It’s ridiculous that part of the job description of an athlete is having a microphone shoved in your face while you’re naked. Again, the reporters are only allowed in there during designated periods. [According to this story](http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jYeXsvTESG9oLMWmCdb_DcG5BgkQD9I977L80), in the NFL and MLB that means the reporters are allowed in 10 minutes after the game. They could make it 15 or 30 minutes, or as the story suggests they could organize the whole thing differently. But I’m sure you’ve seen live postgame interviews with athletes on TV. They’re not naked when the reporters get there unless they don’t care (and I’m sure some of them don’t). ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-in-the-locker-room/553962/42 "2010-09-16T21:47:59Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > In any workplace, if there is someone who is dressed inapprpriately then the proper response is to take it up with the management, not to harrass a fellow employee. As far as I know there are no dress codes for being a reporter, but I wonder if the NFL could enforce a gender-neutral dress code for reporters, something like business casual or better is appropriate. Oh, yeah, like one of the players is going to go to the coach and say “She’s dressed too hot and she’s flirting with us, make it stop!” As far as I’m concerned, she was the one taunting the players, not the other way around. Dressing like that and walking into a men’s locker room, knowing that if they say anything, she’ll cry sexual harassment because it’s a “workplace” and she is entitled to do her job too and all that crap? She was fucking toying with them. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-in-the-locker-room/553962/43 "2010-09-16T23:22:46Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > As far as I’m concerned, she was the one taunting the players, not the other way around. Dressing like that and walking into a men’s locker room, knowing that if they say anything, she’ll cry sexual harassment because it’s a “workplace” and she is entitled to do her job too and all that crap? She was fucking toying with them. Yeah, who does she think she is, wanting to be treated like a normal human being? ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-in-the-locker-room/553962/44 "2010-09-16T23:51:41Z")
Can we get back to the original question: Are male reporters allowed in women’s locker rooms? If so, how has it worked out? ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-in-the-locker-room/553962/45 "2010-09-16T23:56:43Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > > [@Absolute](#): > > > > As far as I’m concerned, she was the one taunting the players, not the other way around. Dressing like that and walking into a men’s locker room, knowing that if they say anything, she’ll cry sexual harassment because it’s a “workplace” and she is entitled to do her job too and all that crap? She was fucking toying with them. > > Yeah, who does she think she is, wanting to be treated like a normal human being? It sounds like that’s exactly what she was treated as. Pretending that sex and gender don’t exist and haven’t been hardwired into our brains through millions of years of evolution - that’s abnormal. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-in-the-locker-room/553962/46 "2010-09-17T01:08:22Z")
I wouldn’t say that women shouldn’t be allowed into a male locker room, but that the NFL (and probably other leagues, if any) should pull TV Azteca’s media credentials. This is the same network that had a different reporter (Ines Gomez Mont) come to the 2008 Super Bowl media day in a wedding dress and propose to Tom Brady in the middle of a press conference. (She asked Eli Manning, too, but the Brady proposal got all the attention due to the press conference.) I realize that the NFL wants to get more viewership in Mexico and Latin America, but it seems like TV Azteca wouldn’t be worth the headache. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-in-the-locker-room/553962/47 "2010-09-17T01:09:02Z")
> [@Ronald\_C.Semone](#): > > Can we get back to the original question: Are male reporters allowed in women’s locker rooms? We’ve established that the answer is yes. They are allowed in women’s locker rooms. > [@](#): > > If so, how has it worked out? I can’t think of any incidents similar to this one, but that’s not proof of anything. > [@Absolute](#): > > It sounds like that’s exactly what she was treated as. Pretending that sex and gender don’t exist and haven’t been hardwired into our brains through millions of years of evolution - that’s abnormal. Again, this is just nonsense. Evolution is not to blame here. It plays a role in sexual attraction, but individual behaviors are the choice of the adult human beings who make them. Catcalling a woman and throwing footballs at her is not instinctive. Granting the ‘she blurred the lines’ argument, she did not make anybody do anything. And no, this is not treating someone like a normal human being. You’ll notice that even in pro football, this doesn’t happen very much. > [@asterion](#): > > I wouldn’t say that women shouldn’t be allowed into a male locker room, but that the NFL (and probably other leagues, if any) should pull TV Azteca’s media credentials. They probably won’t because they’ll get nailed for blaming the victim. But you may be on to something here. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-in-the-locker-room/553962/48 "2010-09-17T01:36:01Z")
Everyone mostly talks about whether or not the women feel uncomfortable while in the locker room. What about the men? For the most part, I’d imagine it’s no picnic for them to walk around in various states of nudity while some strange woman, hot or not, is shoving a microphone in their face. When I’m in a women’s locker room, I expect other women to see me naked (and I don’t particularly like it, but I deal). I would not at all like a man in there, even if he’s there as a professional, and I’d imagine many men feel similarly awkward and uncomfortable. Having someone shove a microphone in your face while you’re half-naked has to be weird under the best of circumstances. Having that person be someone of the opposite gender makes the MEN uncomfortable, even if they’re perfect gentlemen about it. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-in-the-locker-room/553962/49 "2010-09-17T01:44:28Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Again, this is just nonsense. Evolution is not to blame here. It plays a role in sexual attraction, but individual behaviors are the choice of the adult human beings who make them. Catcalling a woman and throwing footballs at her is not instinctive. Granting the ‘she blurred the lines’ argument, she did not make anybody do anything. And no, this is not treating someone like a normal human being. You’ll notice that even in pro football, this doesn’t happen very much. Oh, come on. It happens all the time. Most people understand that it’s completely normal, and don’t make a big stink about it. A locker room ten minutes after a football game with a hot reporter walking in is a completely different environment from, say, a bank, or software company, and refusing to consider that difference because they’re all technically “workplaces” is absurd. Do the cheerleaders get pissed when the players make comments about them, or look in their direction? > [@http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/15/AR2010091506548.html](#): > > Sainz herself told TV Azteca she did not feel insulted, or harassed. > > “It was definitely a joking tone, very amicable,” she said. “I wasn’t offended.” > … > None of the comments were overtly rude, but they were inappropriate and unprofessional, and another journalist complained on her behalf. She wasn’t even offended! It was some other twit who decided to get offended on her behalf! Maybe it was someone who posts here, we seem to have a great deal of people who take pleasure in being self-righteously offended. And anyone who markets herself as the ‘hottest sports reporter in Mexico’ should not be allowed to complain that comments about her appearance are unprofessional. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-in-the-locker-room/553962/50 "2010-09-17T01:49:59Z")
There is a line between saying “She asked for it” and “leaving your keys in the car in the nasty part of town”. In the second one you want to lessen the aggresor’s responsibility, in the second you’re highlighting that if you on0t make good choices you allow bad things to happen. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-in-the-locker-room/553962/51 "2010-09-17T01:54:26Z")
Maybe I’m completely off-base here, but from watching hockey I got the impression - at least for that sport - that the “[locker room](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3650/3442544323_111677efc0_o.jpg)” in which the players meet the media after a game isn’t the actual room in which they shower, keep their wallet and their change of clothes. It’s where they remove their game equipment and hang it up in their stalls, and they go off to an adjacent room or at least around a corner somewhere to actually shower and change. So we aren’t talking about an environment where the players are getting naked and washing like at your local gym. This is a room designed (in modern stadiums) for the players to meet the media in, so IMHO it changes things about how awkward the players should feel. Or at least the Bell Centre one seems to be. How true is this for other sports? And even if we say that Sainz has part of the blame in this (which I don’t really agree with, but I can understand the argument), sadly I think this is something that needs to be discussed, investigated and, if it happened, disciplined and punished. Sports are still a male-dominated society and I’d rather make an example of a relatively minor incident than potentially have something more major happen down the road. Sexual harassment is not appropriate, not even in a pro sports team’s locker room, and a reminder to some players seems to be needed (since they engaged in that behaviour). ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-in-the-locker-room/553962/52 "2010-09-17T01:57:34Z")
How does throwing footballs in the vicinity of a woman (who is supposed to be a journalist covering football practice) amount to harassment? How is looking at woman (who has clearly dressed to attract attention) amount to harassment? I don’t know if it’s changed, but in tennis women were allowed in men’s locker rooms for a while, and men were excluded from the women’s locker room. Some of the male tennis players complained, and then women started being locked out their locker rooms. No reporters in the locker room solves the problem. If they want to talk to the athletes, they can do it when they leave the locker room. Most of the athletes, men and women, would probably prefer it that way. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-in-the-locker-room/553962/53 "2010-09-17T02:01:59Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > She wasn’t even offended! I think she’s been playing up the “I wasn’t offended” angle the last couple of days to avoid a backlash. I believe she didn’t report the incident, but her other comments and earlier statements by reporters cast a little doubt on the “I wasn’t offended” story. > **[Deadspin | Let's Talk About Sex, Ines Sainz, And The Sideline](https://deadspin.com/lets-talk-about-sex-ines-sainz-and-the-sideline-5636603/)** > > Deadspin | Let's Talk About Sex, Ines Sainz, And The Sideline > [@](#): > > As she waited on the sidelines, Rex Ryan supposedly instructed an assistant coach to conduct a passing drill that would make the receivers cross paths with Sainz. There were quite a few volunteers to run the drill, including Jason Taylor (not a receiver) and coach Dennis Thurman (not even a player). > > Later on, Sainz was greeted in the locker room with hoots, whistles and catcalls. A local reporter confirms to us that this was done more jokingly than maliciously, but that Sainz and a number of onlookers were visibly uncomfortable. [http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083\_162-20016401-504083.html](http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20016401-504083.html) > [@](#): > > While the veteran reporter, who has worked for the Mexican network TV Azteca for over nine years, has generally downplayed the incident, she did tell CBS News’ “The Early Show” that she had previously been hassled on the job, but never as rudely as during her Jets locker room visit. > > “I have similar reactions in a different kind of sports. But, never, the vocabulary never so rude,” Sainz told the morning show. She said she believes other members of the media were most upset by “the vocabulary they used to refer to me.” > > On “The Early Show,” Sainz said that the minute she walked into the locker room, everyone started talking about her and making jokes. I see some other players have weighed in and supported the “no girls allowed” angle. I am sure the league is thrilled. > **[NFL Player Mocks Allegedly Harassed Female Reporter](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/darnell-dockett-ines-sainz_n_716793)** > > NFL Player Mocks Allegedly Harassed Female Reporter > [@](#): > > “All I can do is LOL at the jets Female Reporter! She walks into a locker room full of men and think some one not gonna say nothing LMFAO,” he said. “I don’t know what was said to her or whatever but u just have to know u going into a TEAM LOCKEROOM, and if its that serious WOMEN STAY OUT!” [http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/22475988/24624511](http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/22475988/24624511) > [@](#): > > Now, we’ve got Briggs, who told NBC Chicago: “I don’t think women should be in the locker room. The locker room is the place where us guys, us football players, we dress, we shower, we’re naked, we’re walking around and we’re bombarded by media. A lot of times I’m asking the media to wait until I’m dressed." ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-in-the-locker-room/553962/54 "2010-09-17T03:08:09Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > It sounds like that’s exactly what she was treated as. Pretending that sex and gender don’t exist and haven’t been hardwired into our brains through millions of years of evolution - that’s abnormal. So any woman who dresses scantily has to expect sexual come ons? That doesn’t fly in any other workplace. Why is a locker room suddenly a hotbed of sexuality? ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-in-the-locker-room/553962/55 "2010-09-17T03:27:09Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Why is a locker room suddenly a hotbed of sexuality? Umm…its a locker room? Where men are men, get naked, exchange sordid tales in profane language and without employer restriction? Its NOT a normal workplace. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-in-the-locker-room/553962/56 "2010-09-17T03:28:38Z")
What does that even mean, where men are men? Does getting naked really make you more likely to commit sexual harassment? I find it hard to believe that men are such slaves to instinct that merely putting clothes on them is what keeps them in line. ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-in-the-locker-room/553962/57 "2010-09-17T04:35:32Z")
Sports are already segregated by sex. I don’t see why it would be such a big deal to only allow male reporters into the locker room at men’s sporting events, and female reporters into the locker room at women’s events. Granted, I don’t think it’s a good idea to allow any reporter into a freaking locker room, but I’m not a sports fan in general so maybe it makes some kind of sense. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-in-the-locker-room/553962/58 "2010-09-17T04:50:44Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > This is not new, but a woman reporter has to have the same access as men reporters in order to do her job. Locker room quotes are the mainstay of journalists. That’s true. Reporters of BOTH genders MUST be in the locker room. Otherwise, how would we ever get insightful, important quotes like “We have to take each game one at a time.” And “we have to stay focused.” And “They really came to play tonight.” I mean, really, whether it’s Lisa Olson or Peter King, Mike Lupica or Ines Sainz, when’s the last time a reporter in the locker room after a big game got anything but cliches? ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-in-the-locker-room/553962/59 "2010-09-17T06:03:31Z")
1.) I think the players behaved unprofessionally. 2.) If they were making her feel uncomfortable then they’re douchebags. 3.) You can’t blame their behavior on hormones. I’ve been in a pregnancy thread bitching about how someone was trying to handwave asshat behavior by talking about pregnancy-induced mood swings and such and I get just as annoyed when someone come into a thread like this and tries to do the same thing for guys. People are responsible for their own behavior. This woman didn’t spring out of a locker and surprise them- media presence is expected in the locker room. > [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > So any woman who dresses scantily has to expect sexual come ons? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-in-the-locker-room/553962/60 "2010-09-17T06:10:15Z")
But what defines scantily clad? This problem always comes up when people talk about dressing “sexy” in a bad neighborhood and how it doesn’t mean you invite rape but it’s still a bad idea. But I mean, no matter what you wear, some guy somewhere may still think he’s entitled to comment on it. I don’t think wearing a tight tank top is indecent even though I look good in it and I don’t think I have to expect weird sexual behavior from guys anymore than if I’m wearing a jacket over it. I think the main problem is that society thinks they’re entitled to judge what women wear or what their bodies look like. I never hear people talking about the implications of a guy wearing shorts that are too tight or short and blah blah blah, evolution. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-in-the-locker-room/553962.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-in-the-locker-room/553962.md?page=4)