Autograph after an interview?

Although if you DO go for the autograph, be sure to get it on your body....I usually get them on my upper thigh, or left breast.....for guys, a big sig right across the belly makes a tremendous statement.

 

Don't forget to get your picture taken, too!

 

While the athlete has the pen in his hand, make sure you ask him to jot down a couple of sentences about himself that he would like to read in your story ... or better yet, have him write his email address so you can send him a copy to proofread before it runs.

 

I couldn't get it to post...I'll see if I can find a link...

It is a Jim Warren painting. Titled AUTOGRAPH.
The server is down, but you can Google and get an idear.

 

I'll try a serious post on this:

You should be fired on the spot if you ever even have to ask if it's OK.

Grown men who ask another grown man for autographs are akin to child molestors, in my book. It's even a questionable hobby for boys under 14.

It's like saying, "I'm a loser. I want you to sign your name on something so I can prove I was once in your presence, because I'm so beneath you, because you can run with a football and dunk a basketball really well."

 

Wow. Don't you think that may be just a little bit facetious? Perhaps a gross generalization?

 

There was a guy at a Michigan paper that tried to get Drew Henson's autograph in New York.

He ended up losing his major college basketball beat, but kept his job. He's now the lead prep writer.

There's a few people on here that will know who this is.

 

I didn't post with the intention of getting advice if it was okay or not. I wouldn't do it. I had not heard from the writer in question in over a year and the other day out of the blue got an e-mail from him. It reminded me of the incident and I just wondered if others had done what he did and did they now wish they hadn't. I talked with him about it a few years after it happened and his thought was, what's done is done and I didn't get in trouble for it, but it was unprofessional and I wouldn't do it again. I was just wondering how common it is now? Another instance I know of an entertainment reported asked for a famous lead singer of a rock band to pose with him for a photo after an interview. To me it's the same thing the sportswriter did with the autograph. I was asking for examples of this, not wether it was right or wrong.

 

[/boots]

 

I am not kidding or generalizing.
Think about this:
You're a grown man. You ask another grown man, who is probably younger than you, to sign something you can keep to prove you were in his presence because he is famous and is really good at running or jumping or throwing.
It is the very definition of "loser."
It's one thing if some uneducated redneck hick does this. It's almost, but not totally, understandable in that case.
It's quite another if an actual journalist does this.

I won't let my kid do it. He won't be taught that other people are better than him because they happen to be famous and can run or throw fast.

 

Really? So asking some guy, who you'll probably never meet in person ever again, to scribble his name on a piece of paper or ball is just as morally reprehensible as sexually assaulting little children? I think you have to re-examine your priorities, bud. Loosen up your tie, un-button your collar or something.