Erin Andrews and the Cubs locker room: Discuss

What he said.

 

Well said Luggy...
There are times, watching her work on TV where sometimes the line blurs on whether she's doing her job or playing the game, so to speak.

Sad part is, (and I watched this again today which is why it is fresh), watching her act like that, I keep thinking of Uma Thurman in the Producers -- "If you've got it, Flaunt it."

 

what about rubbing a coworker's face because "i just wanted to touch your whiskers"?

 

Hi, everyone. Mike Nadel here. I would have chimed in much sooner but a colleague only recently pointed out that there were double-digit pages discussing this here. Obviously, I'm so late in the game on this site that I can't begin to address all of the points made.

I thank those who stuck up for me. These are the people who know me and my work. Also thanks to the many people in our business - including many, many excellent female journalists - who have chimed in here and also have e-mailed me to thank me for the column and follow-up Deadspin interview.

Those here who honestly believe I do not do my own reporting or that I am just a ripper or that I'm lazy, you don't know what you're talking about. Those from GateHouse papers who claim to be "stuck" reading my work and are now tearing me down, you are cowards to do it anonymously on this site.

Disagree or agree with what I wrote on Erin Andrews, fine. Everybody is entitled to a voice and an opinion. I'm a big boy and I can take it - we're all public figures, just like she is. All I know is that I didn't hide from anybody throughout the entire process.

Cheers.

 

Same-sex contact ain't the same thing, as unprofessional as it may be, and you know it.

 

mike, can you describe what happened? i guess it was all sort of vague in the original account.

btw, i'd never heard of you until 12 hours ago, so i have no opinion of your work.

can you post the deadspin link?

 

Mike, that much is very appreciated.
Years ago I'd have had my knickers in a bunch over this issue. It bothered me when female reporters crossed the line with athletes, because I believed the public and athletes thought we were all one and the same. Now? The issues are much more broad (no pun intended), and most of the athletes I deal with are smart enough to differentiate. I long ago came to terms with how we should all dress/behave, and while it would be nice if there were a general handbook for ALL reporters (male, female; print, broadcast), it's not realistic.
And bottom line, ESPN doesn't seem to care about that fictional handbook, no matter how much the rest of us rant. They long ago blurred the lines.

 

Painted them over with eight coats of matte-gray spray paint, but that's just one idiot thinking out loud ...

 

Do I think it was column-worthy? No, unless you're an editor who wants an excuse to publish a picture of an attractive woman ... and sadly that happens everywhere.

I'm just exhausted by the notion that Erin or anyone else on TV represents female sports journalists. Nobody here would argue the looks or actions of, say, Chris Berman or Stuart Scott impugn other men who work in the industry.

Add: For what it's worth, I'm the one who confronted Meredith Viera years ago when she and her producers asked the Mets who had the biggest wood, or some nonsense. (Interestingly,Benny Agbayani and a couple other players asked me to talk to her about it, because they were so put off by her creepy questions.)
It's completely different than what's been implied about Erin, but the idea that female sports reporters should be lumped together still exists.

 

Mike,

If you felt so strongly about what she was doing, why didn't you speak with her personally and tell her what you thought of her conduct?

 

He was too busy telling Bruce Miles he should wear long pants.

(Seriously, can anybody fucking read? It was an observational column about the atmosphere in the Cubs clubhouse before a game and their reaction to a very conspicuous TV star reporter who was acting in a very conspicuous manner. I don't know that Nadel felt "strongly" about it. I suspect his reaction was more along the lines of feeling grateful he'd lucked into the peculiar scene, which spared him from writing about how the Cubs plan to deploy their middle relievers).

 

Sure reads like he felt "strongly" about it:

Yes, it's an "observational" column on the "atmosphere of the Cubs' clubhouse." It also struck me as, well, a little creepy. Middle-aged-man-caught-staring-at-the-pretty-young-woman kind of thing.

If he thought it was important enough to pass judgment in writing -- and make no mistake, he was absolutely passing judgment -- maybe he also could have pulled her aside and told her how unprofessional he felt her attire and behavior were. I don't know.