Cincinnati Bengals center Ted Karras has revealed players being caught naked on camera is one of the reasons why the NFL wants to close locker rooms to the media.
On Friday, the NFL Players Association called for curbs on locker room interviews, saying that they were an invasion of players’ privacy and urging members to seek interviews outside the locker room during the week.
Reporters regularly mingle with players in the locker room on game day and on practice days, putting members of the media in close quarters with athletes courtesy of media policies that the players association called ‘outdated’.
Players feel that locker room interviews invade their privacy and are uncomfortable. This isn’t about limiting media access but about respecting players’ privacy and dignity,’ the NFLPA said in a statement.
‘We, the NFLPA Executive Committee, urge the NFL to make immediate changes to foster a more respectful and safer workplace for all players.’
Speaking earlier this week, Bengals star Karras explained that a couple of players were caught naked while interviews were being recorded.
‘As you’ve heard from a couple of teams now and the NFLPA is going to come out with a statement, in an effort to protect the sanctity of the locker room and the comfort of the players, each team is going to figure out a program to where we conduct our interviews outside of the locker room,’ Karras, the team’s union representative said.
‘Now, this doesn’t bar you from the locker room. We can’t do that. But what we want to do is get cameras off guys in private moments in our locker room.
‘What brought it to light, really, was a couple of guys naked on camera this year. It has happened a few times in the history of the league.’
On Friday, Kyle Juszczyk called out a San Francisco 49ers reporter in a bizarre argument over locker room interviews.
The NFLPA did not name any specific journalists but Juszczyk singled out reporter Grant Cohn – who covers San Francisco for Sports Illustrated – on social media.
Maybe we can keep Grant Cohn from always hanging around our lockers while we’re changing,’ the 49ers fullback said.
‘I’m starting to think certain players on the 49ers don’t like me,’ Cohn wrote on X, formerly Twitter, shortly after. He then shared an article calling for the 49ers to sit Juszczyk, adding: ‘I stand by this’
Two-time Super Bowl champion Torrey Smith, meanwhile, accused journalists of looking at players’ private parts.
‘If only y’all knew how awkward some of the male reporters act,’ he wrote on social media.
The Pro Football Writers of America said in a statement: ‘NFL players asking to speak outside the locker room has always been a part of the league’s media access policy.’
‘We are continuing discussions with NFLPA executives regarding the media access policy,’ the statement said. ‘The goal is to make everyone comfortable in locker room settings and to have players and clubs follow the NFL media policy.’