Our report was to be a relatively simple survey of people's

attitudes. While polarized by gender when the Incident

occurred, today people's rancor has moderated and the

consensus is that each party has an equal right and therefore

all media should be out of the dressing areas. But,

something else happened over time... Involved parties talked

to the media and acted out on their frustrations. So our

efforts intensified. Today, we doubt that the Incident is

the only incident of its kind; that women sports reporters

have true equality; that the players have an effective means

to voice their complaints; and that the managements of the

media, owners, and NFL have taken the proper steps to assure

the equality of reporter and players rights. Here is why...

 

Something is wrong. Female reporters have to "put up with a

lot of crap" in the locker rooms and "leave their femininity

at the door" (see page 10); male athletes are angry at the

existence of women in locker rooms and feel that there is a

double standard; at least one coach has publicly expressed

his desire to protect his 50 naked men from women reporters

and has placed curtains up to protect them; a locker room

shown on TV had no permanent privacy shields, and the laws

pertaining to rights to work v. rights to privacy prescribe

a satisfactory solution. Yet the problem smolders.

 

Where there's smoke, there's fire! So let's go scouting.