One of the big debates around media access recently has revolved around NFL locker rooms. The NFLPA has called for the league to make “immediate” changes to eliminate media locker room access, and while that hasn’t been approved, some players have started to try and move their midweek interviews outside of the locker rooms. That’s prompted pushback from many reporters around the importance of locker room access and the misconceptions around it, and the latest to weigh in is ESPN’s Kimberley A. Martin.
Martin is the guest on this week’s Awful Announcing Podcast, which will be released in full Friday morning. During a conversation there with host Brandon Contes, she addressed the current locker room debate in strong terms. In particular, she said the NFLPA position doesn’t seem representative of the opinions of all union members.
“I find that topic so frustrating because I’ve talked to so many different teams about it,” Martin said. “And the teams I talked to are like, ‘The players don’t care.’ Because even during COVID, you know, it was like, ‘Hey, we can’t have reporters in the locker room, we have to take you to a separate room where the Zoom is set up.’ And players during COVID were like, ‘We don’t care, just let them in the locker room.’ This is annoying because they don’t want to have to walk and do extra steps to sit down in front of a computer and all that.”
Martin went on from there to say that some reporters’ locker-room actions are problematic, including questions seemingly posed in attempts to go viral. But she said the locker room access is crucial, as it’s the only current way to get specific players: “This is our time to get you.” And she says around 1:08 that the complainants here don’t seem to align with what she’s heard on this from most players.
“I just feel like it’s a small, very tiny group trying to make this a bigger conversation when the large majority of players are like, ‘We could not care less about it.'”
Something that’s often brought up around locker room access discussions is the idea of players being in states of undress. This was historically used as a reason to keep female reporters out of pro sports locker rooms in favor of male reporters, and that took legal and other action to resolve (as well-chronicled in the 2013 ESPN Nine for IX documentary Let Them Wear Towels). And this is again being cited as a rationale to end locker room access (but this time, for everyone), with lines like NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell’s July comment to Mark Maske of The Washington Post that players “do not want to be interviewed when they’re naked.”
However, those arguments are missing much of the current state of play. To start with, the current policy (created by the league, with input from players and the Professional Football Writers of America) sees players are given a cool-down period to get showered and changed before reporters are allowed in. And many, if not all, teams, have areas of their locker room that are off-limits to media, where players can get changed as needed beyond the cool-down period if they’re worried about reporters seeing them unclothed.
So there are already plenty of provisions for players to avoid being interviewed while naked. And, as Martin noted to Contes here around 1:20, contrary to many perceptions, reporters are not looking to see players in the nude.
“Most of us go into the locker room to do the job,” she said. “Like, I don’t want to see your ass. Like, let’s be honest, like you think that’s fun for me, it’s not. So I try to keep my eyes up. I try to wait. Me personally, especially as a woman, I try to give guys space. I don’t approach them unless they’re dressed.”
Why does the locker room access matter so much? Well, for one thing, the current policy means that the locker room is the only way to get most players; only the head coach, quarterback, and one other player selected by the team are required to appear in a separate interview area. And given the number of players on an NFL roster and the amount of media covering NFL teams, an absolutely massive PR staff would be needed to arrange individual requested interviews outside of locker rooms for all media. But beyond that, Martin added to Contes later (around the 1:50 mark) that interacting with players in their locker room space can be more personal, and can create trust and connections that benefit reporting.
“I remember, you know, pictures that guys had in their locker room and you spark a conversation off of that,” she said. “Or you’d see something or they’d want to show you something. The locker room is how we develop a lot of those relationships that help us do our job. I just think we’re kind of straying away from the genuine connections that we could have with players.”
Listen to the full episode of the Awful Announcing Podcast featuring Kimberley A. Martin beginning Friday, Nov. 29. Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. For more content, subscribe to AA’s YouTube page.
