Thursday, September 16, 2010

They're Just Boobs Boys

My good friend Jim brought this story to my attention yesterday. I had already read all about it and had it on my radar when Jim inquired about my perspective on the issue.

If you aren't aware of the story here's the condensed version which reads like every other female sports reporter/locker room harassment scandal story in the past 20 years.

Mexican TV network, TV Azteca reporter Ines Sainz was covering Jets Quarterback Mark Sanchez in the Jets locker room over the weekend when some of the players began making inappropriate comments about her. So much so, that it prompted another reporter to walk over to her and apologize for the way she was being treated and still another reporter to report their behavior to the league. Prior to the locker room experience, the players had even been cat-calling out to her and threw footballs in her direction while on the practice field.

Why? Because Ines is smokin' hot and it's a fact that she uses her smokin' hotness to promote her career.



Yeah. So. What.



Does that mean she's asking for it? That she deserves it? Such questions lie at the center of this debate.

Does she act professionally when on the job? All accounts say yes. Ines has been reporting for TV Azteca for 9 years. She, herself stated that although embarrassed by the Jets actions, she didn't take it "to heart" and continued on with the job at hand. She, herself stated that she did NOT report the incident to the NFL, and that she never felt threatened. Sainz said today she did not hear exactly what was being said in the locker room. "I pretended not to notice," she told "Good Morning America." "I was focused on my job."

Sounds to me like she's been here before and sounds to me like she carried on just as she has in the past. Professionally. The problem for some is that Ines is waaaay to gorgeous and dressed waaay too "provocatively" for sports reporting. Who says? There can be no arguing that Ines is a sexy, gorgeous woman who dresses her part, promoting that sexy-ness. That's her "schtick", as they say. Her tight jeans, (which if you google image Ines Sainz, more than 15 pictures of her ass in tight jeans come up) are kind of like Harry Caray's glasses although Ines' jeans don't seem medically necessary. Minor point. The point here is that no matter what she looks like and no matter how she's dressed, she does not deserve to be treated with sexual harassment in the work place or any place else for that matter. And herein lies the "thin line which is hard to cross" in this debate. Ines claims "it's my style. all my life", and that she is not trying to provoke anything.

Here's what I think for whatever it's worth.

I don't think women reporters should be in the locker rooms. I don't think they belong there.

I know because I've been there and if the athletes act unprofessionally and with disrespect towards female reporters, it makes for a terrible working environment. Forget what being the subject of that can do to one's psyche. Sophomoric behavior will continue to take place if reporters continue to do business in the locker room, and female reporters will always be part of the press whether dressed provocatively or not.

Now, I'm not saying restrict females from the locker rooms. Not at all. I'm saying restrict all press from the locker rooms. There is no need for them to be in there anyway, and conduct business outside the locker room in a press room. This will in no way put an end to those who will continue to cat call and whistle when she is working, but it will put all reporters on even ground which means they will all be dressed and ready for the Q&A.

And don't blame Ines Sainz. "Sainz said she chooses clothing that she considers attractive. "All [women] like to be attractive," she said. "In Mexico, I'm very well known for my image and my work."

15 comments:

Raquel's World said...

Sorry but gotta disagree. I do not think that sexual harassment is "called for". However, I think when you are at work you should dress appropriately. That shirt is fine for dinner out or something of that nature not work.

I am all for women's rights but I am also a mother of 3 boys (and a girl) and I do not think that when my kids watch sports they should see tits in their face. Just my opinion.

I would wear that shirt, loved it actually , but not to work. You are at work!

Mrs. Hall said...

yeah, I think another layer to this is her ethnicity. have you seen how the women are dressed on television mundo? halter tops and crazy tightness abounds-normal for them I guess.

So there's that.

Either way, girlfriend can be attractive, lovely and feminine without all this crazy sexy stuff. She's not a pole dancer and shouldn't dress like one.

does that mean she deserves catcalling? comments? Well not those kind of comments but comments from other women that hey, please, you might not want to display the cleavage-it's just not professional. that' all I have to say about that! :)

Verdant Earl said...

I have absolutely no problem with the way she dresses. :)

What were we talking about here again?

RW said...

Class is a lost art form anymore. You tell me where it is because i can't find it.

Guys in a locker room, in a testosterone-poisoned atmosphere to begin with. A lot of the boys were reinforced and supported and told how good they're doing from the time they were kids by their parents and it's a world where you dance on your opponent's grave if you can. Jocks aren't noted for displaying a lot of class.

And I saw an interview she did on a news show after all this, answering questions with half her right boob showing through the top she was wearing because an extra button was open just at the right spot. There are women in the world who will milk stuff for all it's worth. I don't know if she is, but people in that position aren't noted for taking the classy route either.

It's a no-class culture. Nothing even surprises me anymore.

SkylersDad said...

I actually don't think reporters belong in the locker room. There should be an interview area in every sport for those who are done with the whole showering thing.

Heff said...

Bottom Line - You DON'T send a smokin' hot BABE to do a MAN'S JOB and NOT expect something like this to take place. Someone's errors and omissions ought to be brought in to question regarding this matter, it's really not about HER.

and it's NOT JUST about boobs, either

HAVE YOU SEEN THE CHICK'S ASS ???

IT'S GOLDEN !!!!, lol.

Tuesday Taylor said...

Candy,
I am about as left wing feminist non-judgmental as you can get. However, if a young, smokin' hot guy was interviewing me, in skin tight slacks, shirt open, kind of in a Daniel Craig as James Bond way, my tongue can't help itself from unfurling. And I might accidentally say, 'Meow'.
If you want to be treated professionally, you need to dress professionally.

Anonymous said...

Call me sexist, but I'm going to be politically INCORRECT here: She's obviously using her looks for her job. Who wouldn't? If you got it, flaunt it. However, she shouldn't play the 'victim card' if someone crosses the blurred boundary line that she, herself, established.

Her employer didn't hire her because of her interviewing/sports know-how (although from what I hear, she's pretty good at it); she was hired because she's gorgeous and it would allow her unfettered access to sports stars.

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wallycrawler said...

Guys just gotta grow up.

But that gal rocks my world! "OH YA"!!! "Come here baby"!

sybil law said...

Yeah - dressing with a shirt like that is not necessary for getting the job done- she could still wear something tight but not actually showing the boobs. Doesn't mean she deserves to be harassed or anything, but it does mean she's more likely to...

Doc said...

I think that it's all just a ploy on her part to get publicity. Nobody outside of Azteca TV had any idea who Ines Sainz was 2 weeks ago.

Candy's daily Dandy said...

OK, all valid points here people...and I agree with more than a few of you.

Should she dress professionally so that this kind of crap wont happen?
Probably. But she obviously uses sexuality to further her adgenda and SHE was not the one who reported it to the NFL. Had she been assaulted physically this would be an entirely different discussion.

MY point is..hot, fat, albino, Latino, etc... reporters do NOT need to be in the locker room.Why do you think they call it a "press" room.

And Mrs. Hall...I agree with you on the Telemundo thing. Completely

Scope said...

As a player, I wouldn't want anyone who didn't need to be there in the locker room. It's just wrong.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater said...

She's pretty smokin' I don't think I'd throw footballs at her. That's kind of caveman style. "Ugh! Hot girl! Me throw football at boobies!"

Furtheron said...

I think I'm on the side of it is sexual harassment end of and that the players should be reprimanded. I would be if I behaved like that in an office or a factory - I know people who have effectively lost jobs over stuff like that.

How she dresses or looks shouldn't matter. Say this was a female soccer side and it was a male reporter? This is the 21st century isnt' it