There was much ado about Ines Sainz who caused a stir in the Jets locker room and at practice last week. I haven’t touched on things yet but I have a few thoughts on the matter. Both sides were wrong — Sainz for not being professional entering the locker room, and the Jets for not being more respectful. The Jets were more in the wrong, but both parties did not handle their roles properly.
The whole incident also had me wondering whether or not media members even belonged in the locker room. I always felt awkward being in there while guys were walking in and out of the shower — they should have some privacy. I have to figure it’s even more uncomfortable with women in there. Bears linebacker Lance Briggs agrees, as he told NBC Chicago in an interview via Pro Football Talk:
“I don’t think women should be in the locker room,” said Lance Briggs. “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.”
Allowing media members locker room access allows them to do their job better, so I wouldn’t want to wipe that out. Maybe the solution is to wait until players are decent before the media is allowed in. Or maybe if the players want privacy in the locker room, then they have to be accommodating outside of it to make up for it. Perhaps they should be taken to media rooms or in the hallway for interviews so that the media can do its job. I think there is a solution here that could help all parties because I don’t want anybody’s personal space to be invaded by something unwelcome.
Sources:
Lance Briggs says women shouldn’t be in locker rooms [Pro Football Talk]
Women in the Locker Room? Naw, Baby. [NBC Chicago]
