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Thread: Reporter peeved at White Sox for allowing sexist locker room "shrine"

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    RZ Chamber of Commerce Unassisted's Avatar
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    Reporter peeved at White Sox for allowing sexist locker room "shrine"

    http://www.suntimes.com/sports/sleza...rol06.article#

    White Sox blew it by allowing sexist shrine

    Guillen, team leaders weren't man enough to say 'this is wrong'

    May 6, 2008

    BY CAROL SLEZAK cslezak@suntimes.com
    White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen curses this city for failing to give the Sox organization proper respect, but he has no problem with the infantile and sexist "shrine" his players erected in their locker room.

    So much for sensitivity training.

    Apparently the sensitivity training classes White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen attended after using a gay slur in 2006 did not include a segment on blow-up dolls.

    Designed to help the team break out of its slump, the shrine featured two female blow-up dolls surrounded by ''strategically placed'' baseball bats and was accompanied by a sign that read, ''You've Got To Push,'' Canada's National Post reported.

    ''A few of the bats were doing naughty things,'' Sun-Times beat writer Joe Cowley wrote in his blog. Apparently one of the dolls was propped up by a bat in its rear end. Whether the lewdness was intentional or not, this was inappropriate. As were the blow-up dolls. Period.

    Neither Guillen, his players nor anyone else in the Sox organization had attempted to conceal the shrine from reporters before the Sox played the Blue Jays on Sunday at Toronto's Rogers Centre. And on Monday, Guillen defended the display (which had since been taken down), rationalizing that the team treats female reporters respectfully, and besides, he has seen a lot worse during his big-league career. So what's the big deal, anyway?

    Apparently the sensitivity training classes Guillen attended after using a gay slur in 2006 did not include a segment on blow-up dolls.

    Just so we're clear, had there been any female reporters working Sunday's game -- my understanding is there weren't -- the Sox could have found themselves in legal trouble as a result of the display. It's also possible male reporters were offended by the display.

    But this isn't about reporters' feelings. Reporters are conduits to the fans. What a team does behind closed doors is its own business. But once the locker room opens, the franchise is on public display. So, how do you like your team now, Sox fans? Do you think the players respect women? I'm not so sure about that.

    Can you imagine the Yankees or Red Sox building a similar shrine in their locker room, in full view of clubhouse visitors? Can you imagine Joe Girardi or Terry Francona allowing that to happen? I can't.

    While Guillen has no problem with the shrine, he has definite issues with where the Sox rank in this two-team baseball city. His Sunday sermon proved that.

    ''The Cubs haven't won in 120 years, and they're the [bleep]ing best,'' he said. ''[Bleep] everybody. We're horse[bleep], and we're going to be horse[bleep] the rest of our lives, no matter how many World Series we win. We are the ***** of Chicago. We're the Chicago *****.''

    Why is he wasting energy on the Cubs? More important, how can he complain about a lack of respect while his players are worshipping blow-up dolls in the locker room? It's absurd.

    That's not to let the players off the hook. Who among them thought this was a good idea? How could the so-called team leaders -- Paul Konerko, Jim Thome, Mark Buehrle, Orlando Cabrera and Nick Swisher -- allow this this to happen?

    To think there wasn't a single player man enough to stand up and say, ''This is wrong.''

    I'm sure the players' moms, wives, sisters and daughters are really proud of them. Way to go, guys. And just so we're clear, the tired ''boys will be boys'' excuse no longer works.

    But it starts at the top. I'm pretty sure Guillen was born without a sensitivity chip, but what about general manager Ken Williams and chairman Jerry Reinsdorf? What about commissioner Bud Selig, who ordered Guillen's 2006 sensitivity training? Verbal or not, intended or not, the blow-up doll shrine said a mouthful about how the Sox organization views women. And I don't like what I heard.
    Last edited by Unassisted; 05-06-2008 at 09:21 PM.
    /r/reds


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  3. #2
    Member CrackerJack's Avatar
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    Re: Reporter peeved at White Sox for allowing sexist locker room "shrine"

    Read this earlier, sounds like something a bunch of high school or college kids would do.

    While I don't think it's "offensive" necessarily (just immature and stupid) it certainly shouldn't be "displayed" in a professional team's locker room.

    Guillen is simply an idiot. Professional athletes demeaning and dehumanizing women is nothing new though I guess.

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    Re: Reporter peeved at White Sox for allowing sexist locker room "shrine"

    It was a freaking blow up doll. Let me ask you a question, what are blow up dolls usually used for?

    But this isn't about reporters' feelings.
    Yeah, right.

    It's a locker room full of 25 guys, stuff like this is going to happen.
    Quote Originally Posted by Scooter View Post
    A little bit off topic, but do you guys think that Jesse Winker profiles more like Pete Rose or is he just the next Hal Morris??

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    Re: Reporter peeved at White Sox for allowing sexist locker room "shrine"

    Quote Originally Posted by reds44 View Post
    It was a freaking blow up doll. Let me ask you a question, what are blow up dolls usually used for?


    Yeah, right.

    It's a locker room full of 25 guys, stuff like this is going to happen.


    That's a pretty solid defense in front of a judge defending a million dollar lawsuit.

    Being an idiot is no excuse for not understanding what harrassment is.
    Baseball is like church. Many attend, few understand

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    Re: Reporter peeved at White Sox for allowing sexist locker room "shrine"

    So now what they did is harrassment?
    Quote Originally Posted by Scooter View Post
    A little bit off topic, but do you guys think that Jesse Winker profiles more like Pete Rose or is he just the next Hal Morris??

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    Re: Reporter peeved at White Sox for allowing sexist locker room "shrine"

    Quote Originally Posted by reds44 View Post
    So now what they did his harrassment?
    ?
    Baseball is like church. Many attend, few understand

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    Re: Reporter peeved at White Sox for allowing sexist locker room "shrine"

    Quote Originally Posted by VR View Post
    That's a pretty solid defense in front of a judge defending a million dollar lawsuit.

    Being an idiot is no excuse for not understanding what harrassment is.
    Agreed. Frankly, reds44, I expect more from you. There are solid defenses to be had if you believe the guys in the clubhouse did nothing wrong, so resorting to the shrug, well they're dudes excuse is a pretty lazy take on the situation.
    There is no such thing as a pitching prospect.

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    Re: Reporter peeved at White Sox for allowing sexist locker room "shrine"

    Quote Originally Posted by reds44 View Post
    So now what they did his harrassment?
    If the reporter who wrote this piece had been in the locker room to witness the "shrine," the White Sox organization would indeed be writing her a big check to avoid writing a huge check for a big award in a harassment case.
    /r/reds

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    Re: Reporter peeved at White Sox for allowing sexist locker room "shrine"

    Quote Originally Posted by reds44 View Post
    It was a freaking blow up doll. Let me ask you a question, what are blow up dolls usually used for?


    Yeah, right.

    It's a locker room full of 25 guys, stuff like this is going to happen.
    It's a "professional" team. And Guillen has never run a "professional" ship. It's classless.

    I was a beat reporter in college, and I cringe at the thought of being in a locker room with that display while standing next to a co-worker who just happens to be a female.

    To my understanding, there were no females present in the room at the time. Doesn't mean it was the right thing to do. But when Nick Swisher is the leader of your team and Ozzie Guillen is your manager, what's right normally isn't practiced much.

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    Re: Reporter peeved at White Sox for allowing sexist locker room "shrine"

    This is in not "harassment" as I understand it. this is plain stupid... But we expect that from Guillen.

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    Re: Reporter peeved at White Sox for allowing sexist locker room "shrine"

    Quote Originally Posted by reds44 View Post
    So now what they did is harrassment?
    Yes. Being a reporter in general is tough enough, but examples such as this give a good illustration as to why it's even tougher for a female reporter to do her job in a so called "boys being boys" environment.

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    Re: Reporter peeved at White Sox for allowing sexist locker room "shrine"

    Quote Originally Posted by smith288 View Post
    This is in not "harassment" as I understand it. this is plain stupid... But we expect that from Guillen.


    smith...what would make it harrassment in your mind?
    Baseball is like church. Many attend, few understand

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    Re: Reporter peeved at White Sox for allowing sexist locker room "shrine"

    If this was a WNBA team and they did something similar with a male blowup doll, cardboard cutout, whatever, would this even be a story? Nope.

    And the amount of "groupies" that throw themselves at professional athletes should be much more degrading than this. To be quite frank, there are quiet a few number of women who have very little self respect and sleep with these guys when they know little or nothing about them.

    Why isn't Carol writing an article about that?
    Last edited by reds44; 05-06-2008 at 09:46 PM.
    Quote Originally Posted by Scooter View Post
    A little bit off topic, but do you guys think that Jesse Winker profiles more like Pete Rose or is he just the next Hal Morris??

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    Re: Reporter peeved at White Sox for allowing sexist locker room "shrine"

    Quote Originally Posted by vaticanplum View Post
    Agreed. Frankly, reds44, I expect more from you. There are solid defenses to be had if you believe the guys in the clubhouse did nothing wrong, so resorting to the shrug, well they're dudes excuse is a pretty lazy take on the situation.
    I guess color me shocked that we haven't heard of blow up dolls mingling with baseball bats in male baseball locker rooms before now.

    They're dudes. They're in a locker room. They're being dudes in a locker room.

    *shrug*

    What's the big deal?

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    Member reds44's Avatar
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    Re: Reporter peeved at White Sox for allowing sexist locker room "shrine"

    Quote Originally Posted by cincrazy View Post
    Yes. Being a reporter in general is tough enough, but examples such as this give a good illustration as to why it's even tougher for a female reporter to do her job in a so called "boys being boys" environment.
    She wasn't even in the room to see it.

    ''A few of the bats were doing naughty things,'' Sun-Times beat writer Joe Cowley wrote in his blog. Apparently one of the dolls was propped up by a bat in its rear end. Whether the lewdness was intentional or not, this was inappropriate. As were the blow-up dolls. Period.
    This is what you call digging for a story, and obviously it has worked.
    Quote Originally Posted by Scooter View Post
    A little bit off topic, but do you guys think that Jesse Winker profiles more like Pete Rose or is he just the next Hal Morris??


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