Women in the Locker Room

Renee Turner's article on female journalists covering sports appeared in the July 1991 issue of Ebony Magazine. She examines the prejudices and stereotypes female sportswriters face while doing their job

"As the debate raged over whether female reporters should have the same locker-room access as men, the elite crop of Black women sports reporters took it in stride. After all, in more than a decade of covering everything from the World Series to the World Cup, they've become accustomed to facing and overcoming obstacles with a mixture of ingenuity, skill and raw nerve.

Take, for example, the time that the San Jose Mercury News' Annette John-Hall, 35, wedged her foot in the door of the Golden State Warriors' out-of-town locker room to prevent an overzealous guard from locking her out. "He thought he was doing his job," says the 10-year veteran sportswriter."

Female sports writers have faced discrimination from both male sports writers and the subjects they cover. They have often been forced out of locker rooms and denied the access there male counterparts enjoy.

"Athletes have even used their nudity to show their disapproval of women in their domain. A legendary baseball player was known to strut around the locker room stark naked when women reporters were nearby. He'd say "not bad for a 40-year-old," recalls Kelly Carter, 28, of the Dallas Morning News. In another instance, a Portland Trailblazers guard stood nude in bold defiance as Carter approached him for an interview. "He wanted to see if I would look him in the eye," says the 6-foot-2 Carter. She did, and handed him a towel."

Turner, R. (1991). Women in the Locker Room. Ebony Magazine.