From: roger@crux.Princeton.EDU (Roger Lustig)
Subject: Re: Women Sports Reporters
Originator: news@nimaster
Reply-To: roger@astro.princeton.edu (Roger Lustig)
Organization: Princeton University
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 17:13:21 GMT

In article <1993Jan21.122040.7804@zooid.guild.org> Will Steeves <goid@zooid.guild.org> writes:
>snichols@adobe.com (Sherri Nichols) writes...
>>In article <1992Dec23.024452.24795@cbnewsk.cb.att.com> noraa@cbnewsk.cb.att.com
>>(aaron.l.hoffmeyer) writes:

>>>I assume that men reporters are also entitled to interview women
>>>athletes while they are bathing, although I've never heard of one man
>>>even attempting to do so.

>>In every sport where women participate, men and women reporters have equal
>>access to the players.

>And I repeat his question... (unless he has already done so)  Do you
>know of an actual case where a male reporter even attempting to
>interview women athletes while they were bathing?  If so, what was
>the outcome?

a) None of us knows of such a case.

b) The reason for this is that equal access rules have been around 
for as long as womens' pro sports have.

>>>Wyche's primary motivation was to insure that his players were not open
>>>to charges of sexual harassment for behaving inappropriately while not
>>>fully clothed in front of women reporters.  He understood that the
>>>incident with the New England Patriots football players and a woman
>>>reporter came about because these Partriot football players were very
>>>resentful of a woman reporter insisting on interviewing players in the
>>>locker room immediately after practice while they were bathing.  He was
>>>trying to avoid this problem.

>>>A group of his players later had group sex with a woman in Seattle, WA,
>>>and then, when the women pursued them with threats of accusing them of
>>>rape, paid her a lump sum of something like $30,000 to NOT go forward
>>>with the allegations.  Then, the woman demanded more money.  The
>>>players refused to give her more money.  So, she went forwarded with
>>>the rape allegations.  I don't know the outcome of the trial, though.
>>>Despite Wyche's "fathering," this group of "his" players were stupid
>>>enough to open themselves up to such allegations.

>>Perhaps if Wyche had dealt with the real problem of the players and their
>>attitudes toward women, instead of tacitly supporting those attitudes, his
>>"fathering" would have been more effective.

>Methinks that your bias is screaming off the page.  You seem to imply that
>these men are already guilty.  

She does no such thing.  She implies that:

a) These players dodn't have the good judgment to figure out that 
gangbanging isn't a good idea when you're a public figure;

b) paying such a sum without legal agreements is dumb (caving in to
blackmail);

c) what she said: his players were stupid enough to open themselves
up to such allegations.  Despite his efforts to protect them.

>Indeed, if the woman *had* actually
>consented to sex, then this *hardly* condemns the players' "attitudes
>about women".  

Yeah, like most of us think that (no doubt unprotected) group sex
with a stranger is a good idea.

>Granted, if the sex was not consensual, as she implied,
>then I agree that you would have a point.  As it is, the facts of the
>case have not yet come out (as far as I have heard), so you do the accused
>a great disservice by summarily convicting them.

She didn't .  She accused them of stupidity, of which they
are certainly guilty.  Not a crime, but hell on your public image.

Roger