General clubhouse professional courtesy thread

I hate when that happens.

 

What did you do when that happened? Say anything to the asshole TV person?

 

Don't bother someone who doesn't want to be bothered. Respect a one-on-one, no matter how ridiculously long it gets or how irrelevant the conversation surely is. Don't piggyback on everyone else's questions constantly -- you've got to ask some of your own and initiate some interviews now and then or people will think you're a parasite. And, if you're a radio guy, you get to ask the first 3 or maybe 4 questions in the postgame with the manager, but if you go past that, you're kind of being a jerk. Ask your two questions about the game and your one question about the upcoming contest and let the print guys have at it.

 

Something sarcastic like "Real nice, dude." I'm not much with comebacks.

 

Good one. Learned that one the hard way.

 

What happened?

 

My first day as an employee with the junior hockey team I work for I walked across the logo. Was lit up by the assistant captain (who played in the NHL last season) in front of the whole team and fined $25 (usually players' fine begins at $2).

Five years later I haven't done it since.

 

Just remember that you are a professional and conduct yourself as such.

And if Raffy Palmeiro walks past you after a loss, give him room. ;D

 

Some good stuff here, but you're probably best off just to keep Will McDonough in mind, the famed Boston reporter who decked a player. Pro athletes, baseball players especially, can be jerks and will try to intimidate or embarrass you if you've written something they didn't particularly like. Stand your ground.

Also, if you hear a player objected to something you wrote (the team's PR people usually will let you know) be proactive about it and go talk to the player. It's best to get things cleared up sooner rather than later.

Don't linger. That's a tough one. Because players are so in and out of the clubhouse before a game, it's hard not to just stand and wait for the guy to grab something from his locker. If you really need him, just wait it out.

Dont sweat the logo thing too much. Most players dont pay much attention to the media, so if you forget and happen to walk on it, best bet is no one will notice. I wouldnt advise standing on it.

 

The logo thing is just a part of the kangaroo court system that is as old as hockey or baseball themselves. Hugs was an employee and a newbie, so he was low-hanging fruit. No big deal.

 

Last year at a college basketball game a bunch of us were standing around a player in the post-game press room. TV camera guy brings over a chair and gets on it so he can get a shot. Old guy who's in charge of the press room comes over and tells him to get off the chair. I move out of the way so he can get down, but as he steps down he swings the camera around and nearly hits me with the back of it. I instinctively put my hand up and shoved the camera away. The guy apologizes, but his buddy, some news reporter geek, says, "Why don't you get out of the way the next time."

I walked over when the interview was over and asked him if he would like to repeat what he said. He just walked away. Prick.

 

Why would someone put a logo on a carpet if they don't want it walked on? I've got better things to do than tiptoe around some rug design