From: noraa@cbnewsk.cb.att.com (aaron.l.hoffmeyer)
Subject: Re: Women Sports Reporters
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 02:44:52 GMT

In article <1992Dec20.025311.4713@adobe.com> snichols@adobe.com (Sherri Nichols) writes:
>In article <1992Dec18.165337.27469@lmpsbbs.comm.mot.com> bhv@areaplg2.corp.mot.com (Bronis Vidugiris) writes:
>>As I recall, at least one team owner tried to get all the reporters (no
>>gender distinctions) out of the locker room and into an interview area.  He
>>was more or less 'jumped on' by the commission (not sure whether this was
>>baseball or football) who argued that it was required that interviews take
>>place in the locker room, and that an interview area was not an acceptable
>>substitute.
>
>The only recent thing I can think of that comes close to fitting your above
>scenario was the situation with Sam Wyche, the coach (not owner) of the
>Bengals (a football team).  Wyche tried to unilaterally ban women reporters
>from the locker room, not move all reporters to an interview room, and the
>league came down on him.  

Wyche did not try to unilaterally ban women reporters from the locker
room, but attempted to secure the privacy of his players while they
were bathing and void of clothing.  He erected a temporary wall in the
locker room with blankets or some such and told the women reporters
that they could ask to talk to any player, and that player, if he was
not dressed, would put on something and come outside the barrier/wall
to answer their questions.  Women reporters and their newspapers
objected to this, because they felt it gave men reporters better
chances at getting "exclusives" from players.  The league agreed with
them, possibly, in part, to avoid further litigation.  At that time,
the embarassment of sexual harassment charges lobbied by a woman
reporter who had interviewed players while they were naked and they
behaved inappropriately was a major concern of the league.  They didn't
want to turn the locker room debate into a political issue.  The league
did not want any more negative publicity.  Women had been granted this
"right" years earlier by judicial review of law.  The league considered
the issue closed and told Wyche to comply or face punishment.

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.

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.

Aaron L. Hoffmeyer
TR@CBNEA.ATT.COMallowed