So the NFLPA wants to limit or eliminate locker room media access? Don't even think about it, fellas
Like the players union has nothing more important to address. Sigh. I will always fight for access. Here's why:
So now the National Football League Players Association wants to cut off locker room access to the media during the week and it’s incumbent that everybody in my business pushes back.
Hard.
This is what the union is saying, insisting the access rules are “outdated,” adding “Players feel that locker room interviews invade their privacy and are uncomfortable. This isn’t about limiting media access but about respecting players’ privacy and dignity. We, the NFLPA Executive Committee, urge the NFL to make immediate changes to foster a more respectful and safer workplace for all players.”
Poor babies.
Three times a week and after the game, football players are contractually obligated to make themselves available to media, who routinely spend a half hour, tops, during a typical locker room session. The big-name players, notably the starting quarterback, are only obligated to speak to us once. The locker room is open Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. And after the game. That’s it.
I know what you’re saying (because you’re not a journalist and you have no reason to understand how we do our jobs):
If the league is willing to bring players out to a designated interview area outside the locker room, why are you whining about access? You’re getting your interviews and you’re not interloping while they’re showering, changing, checking their phones, etc…
I’ll tell you why. Because if you’re a real journalist and you work locker rooms in an effort to tell more insightful and nuanced stories, you NEED locker room access. I acknowledge, I don’t work locker rooms the way I used to, but back in the day, I used to sidle over to various players and have off-the-record, informational conversations, build casual relationships, collect insights on what’s going on. I can’t tell you how much my columns benefitted from walking over to Shannon Sharpe and Howard Griffith (in Denver) or Edgerrin James or Dallas Clark or Anthony Gonzalez (in Indy) to better understand what was going on and why.
Take away locker room access, all that goes away.
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