Earlier this month, Ines Sainz, a female sports reporter, was allegedly assaulted while conducting an interview in the New York Jets’ locker room. A harassment complaint was filed, and the National Football League is now providing all teams with sensitivity training.
Nicholas Maronese
Editor-in-Chief
When it comes to the case of Ines Sainz, I find the Jets’ behaviour unprofessional and inexcusable, regardless of exactly what type or level of harassment Sainz was subjected to.
However, some people – namely Fox News’ Brian Baldinger – apparenty disagree, noting that she was “asking for it” because she was dressed inappropriately. Sainz was wearing blue jeans and a button- down white blouse.
While I disagree with Baldinger’s assessment of Sainz’s attire, I also think it’s entirely beside the point. No woman (or man, for that matter) wants to be sexually harassed: that’s part of the definition of harassment.
It doesn’t matter what she was wearing. The reasoning employed by people like Baldinger implies that, if Sainz had on nothing but a sports bra and short-shorts, that the Jets would not be crossing any boundaries if they called her a slut, howled catcalls or grabbed her butt. I mean, with a get-up like that, she’d be asking for it, right? Wrong.
I’m not quite sure why some people think “she was asking for it” makes for a valid argument, but I can guess: if you ask me, some testosterone-laden males just can’t keep their dirty thoughts in their heads, their hands to themselves and their dicks in their pants. Some women inspire feelings in them, of course and, thus, must have intentionally been trying to provoke – it has to be their fault, after all.
And then, on a whim, they decide to take that inane line of thinking and put it into words, to see if people will buy it.
And, because we still live in a patriarchal society that doesn’t afford women nearly as much respect as it should, some of us buy it. Often, we’ll hear “she was asking for it,” hunt down some photographic evidence (pictures of Sainz are all over the internet now, of course) and decide to make our own judgment call on exactly how emphatically she was indeed asking for it.
You don’t have to be a feminist to get my point; women deserve respect, and there is no excuse not to give it to them.
Lewis Chaitov
Contributor
The Sainz case has inspired some questions recently amongst the media: does a female have the right to enter the male locker room right after a game, when many of the players are in the buff? If so, should men also be allowed to interview females in their locker rooms?
Though the old days when fedora-wearing men dominated journalism have passed, many outlets are still talking about an “unwritten code” of dress, and have questioned whether Sainz was following it.
If you feel so inclined, Google her name and pull up a picture of her outfit that day. Feel free to make your own decision about how appropriate it was. Speaking as a professional who has interviewed Major League Baseball players in Canada and covered minor league baseball in the United States, I believe that women should be allowed to go into the locker room as long as they are properly attired.
I have worked alongside many professional female sports journalists in many different interview scenarios. In some venues, the players are interviewed by both sexes in a neutral area outside the locker room. The players were sometimes half-dressed, but they were never caught in their birthday suits.
As a male reporter, I wait for the ladies to come out of the locker room after basketball games here at York. At that point, they have showered and relaxed after the game. This gives them a chance to enjoy themselves during the interviews.
I don’t see myself as a chauvinist pig, but Ines Sainz was dressed more like she was going out on a hot date. That’s not professional attire, and it’s a poor way to gain respect from athletes or fellow media colleagues.
In short, yes, women should be allowed in the locker room, but they should remember that some not-so-well-educated people lie behind those doors. There are other hazards, too: I have seen male athletes drop their towels not knowing there was a lady behind them.
If you ask me ,it is up to males and females to play fair when doing interviews in the locker room.
