My journalism journey part 20

I always knew I was a pioneer in the sports writing world. In most places I worked, I was the only female sports writer. When I was in college, I was assigned the women's teams (not always, but sometimes) as my beat. Title XI was passed in 1972; I graduated from high school in 1973. Women still weren't given equal opportunities in college sports just yet, though.
Back then, girls had to audition to get invited to get on a college team. And it wasn't just about the scholarships, either. It was also the attitude, the way the coaches perceived the game.
I remember covering a women's basketball game at Northern Illinois University in the mid-1970s (I went to school 1973-77). After the game, players from both teams dressed in their Sunday best and had a tea party in the gym. I'm sure you wouldn't see that after a men's game.
When Phil Kadner hired me as a sports writer my freshman year at the Northern Star, he gave me an easy enough beat: intramural sports. But he gave me a chance and a start. And I'll always be grateful.
Through the years, I had to butt my head against that glass ceiling so many times. It wasn't just male editors who didn't think I could do the job; it was also the coaches. But then there were also the men who didn't care that I was a woman and looked instead at my abilities, guys like Ken Dunwoody and Ken Veloskey, who gave me my first chance at the Cardunal Free Press and Elgin Herald; Wally Mundstock, who hired me in Montana; Ron Feickert, who hired me in South Dakota; and Andy Angelo, who took me on at the Grand Rapids Press (but as a copy editor).
And there were the coaches who didn't care I was a woman, either. I'll always remember Dundee basketball coach Paul Judson. Paul, along with his twin brother Phil, led tiny Hebron High School to the Illinois state basketball championship in 1952, when Illinois had just one class. The twins went on to play for Illinois, and Phil was the head boys' basketball coach at Zion-Benton High school.
I was a bit shy about going into the boys' locker rooms after the games. I felt it was like interviewing a person while they were sitting on the toilet. I wouldn't like it, so I didn't want to do it to somebody else. So I would wait for the coaches to come out. Usually, that meant waiting for the other reporters to get done with their interviews and then the coach would come out.
Elgin coach Bill Chesbrough was the first to break that tradition, on my first night on the job. Paul Judson would be another to come out and do the interviews outside the locker room. He was not playing favorites with anyone.
Most of the girls' sports coaches who were men would come out anyway, and those who were women also came out, so it was fair play. But Judson, he was something else.
A lot of the time, I stayed late talking to him. He was fascinating. He would demonstrate his plays to me, physically moving me as he showed me a box-and-one or a zone defense or whatever. Or he'd grab my notebook and diagram the play for me. I knew enough about basketball to write a story, but he never felt any of my questions were dumb questions from a woman. To him, every question was important. Sometimes, the other reporters would roll their eyes at my questions, but never Judson.
In Montana and South Dakota, I also was a novelty. Only once did I have to go into a boys' locker room. That was because a coach was angry with me and didn't want to talk with me. So I walked into the boys' locker room, the boys, who were not wearing towels when I walked in, didn't seem to care. I averted my eyes (because I really didn't want to see their junk) and went to find the coach.
Another time I had to go into a girls' locker room to a female coach out. The girls all grabbed their towels (what a switch!), and again, I didn't look. Hey, I had the same equipment, just older. I found the coach and asked her to come out soon. I asked a couple of players if I could talk to them when they were done dressing, hopefully soon. And I left.
This always worked for me. But women cover major college sports or professional teams didn't have this leeway. They had to go into the locker rooms; this was where the action was after the games. And eventually, there was a problem.
On Sept. 17, 1990, Boston Globe writer Lisa Olson was in the New England Patriots' locker room when players made vulgar comments. She said several players taunted her while walking naked in her presence. She complained the incident was like "mind rape." Although an NFL investigation said she was humiliated and degraded, Patriots fans harassed Olson. She eventually left the Globe and went to Australia. She did return in 1998.
You do notice now that most major sports teams conduct interviews in interview rooms. Olson's ordeal is the reason for that. I believe she is a brave person. She had to deal with much more than I ever had to.
When that was happening, I, of course, was dealing with my coaches in my normal way. I was waiting for them to come out of their locker rooms. It was football season in South Dakota, so I had to catch them before they got on the bus to leave Swisher Field.
Venerable Yankton football coach Max Hawk told me I'd be invited into his team's locker room anytime. I said, "Thanks, Max, but I don't want to interview naked high school boys." He laughed.
The high school and small college coaches with whom I dealt were decent people. They were teachers as well as coaches; they tried to set an example for their student-athletes every day. So most would never disrespect a woman, regardless of the fact that she was a sports writer.
Now, there was always a coach or two that treated me like a dumb broad. I could see the eye roll at a question. I knew what they were thinking. Those were the ones I had to wait to come out of the locker room if the other reporters didn't drag him out first.
And a word on the other sports writers: Most of the guys were great. They were my competition, but they also knew we were a fraternity of journalists. We had to stand together, so they were more than willing to get the coach out and let us do the interviews outside the locker room.
When Title XI passed, it opened opportunities for women in sports, and for women covering sports. And that made me a valuable commodity.