The Masters and locker room access

JIMMER FREDETTE

Tara Sullivan may not have been amused but I was –in a way.

The incident happened Sunday when the Bergen (N.J.) Record columnist attempted to enter the locker room to interview Rory McIlroy following his final-round collapse at the Masters. But a female security guard prevented Sullivan from entering.

By the time the situation was cleared up and the guard was notified that female reporters were allowed in the locker room, McIlroy’s interviews were over. Reports say the security guard was unaware of the equal access policy at Augusta National.
golf.com

New flash to the Masters security people: MEN’S LOCKER ROOMS HAVE BEEN OPEN TO FEMALE REPORTERS AND VICE VERSA AT SPORTS EVENTS FOR 30 YEARS.

On the other hand, the club still doesn’t allow women as members, so there you go.

The locker room issue has always been complicated. On one hand, athletes consider the locker room their sanctuary. On the other hand, media outlets need theirs stories. In college football, most teams have adopted a fairly workable policy: No locker room access for anyone.

That is only reasonable because they allow access to players on a different basis. News outlets request the players they want, and the players come out of the locker room into an interview area. Problem solved.

I can do without locker room interviews, which I’ve conducted with both men’s and women’s teams; they’re smelly, uncomfortable and space-challenged. Pulling athletes outside for interviews might cost me a little flexibility, speed, atmosphere and spontaneity, but if you’ve ever been in a hockey locker room, you know it’s not a smell you want on your mind the rest of the day.

The bad part about group interviews is that they keep you waiting for the player you want to talk to. And nobody gets anything exclusive.

The way over-managing has become, I’m guessing someday they’ll just routinely set up two-way video hookups for interviews.