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Pay ttt. 1fll-rtoootroitdu. w, my 2,191! Complete Collision ' And Refinishing Service that's what its really all about! Like most normal males, I occasionally get aroused by the sight of the naked female body. In the proper setting of course. Nursery schools, senior citizen homes, and the Royal Ott- tario Museum are not proper settings. And neither are sports dressing rooms! I for one, am sick to death of hearing about the con- troversy surrounding access to team's dressing rooms by reporters of the opposite sex. But I also have an opinion on it. Because sports, and the sports media were so male- oriented until the early 1970's, there was never occasion for athletes to succumb to "operation cover-up" after a game. As female athletes in the '70's He. Chris Evert, Nancy Lopez) have led their respective sports out of obscurity, so has the sports media tended to gravitate toward the "token female" syndrome. Though some won't admit it, it was done right here in town with Lianne Heller at the Record two years ago. ' The dressing room, stezimy and sweaty as it was, repre- sented a haven for athletes to relax, enjoy a beer and ca- sually shoot the breeze with reporters, A - __ __ But in the past few years that has all changed. The first real impact locally was felt when the Globe and Mail hired Christie Blatchford as a column writer to replace the Iova- ble eccentric Dick Beddoes on front page sports. Ms. Blatchford often commented on the inequality of male/fe- male sportswriters rights. In-some piiople's bpinion. it was a highly successful move, while some "chauvinists" refused to even read her stories. Rick Campbell ") The 15-year-old Yuska. who is coached by Peter N i- chols at Country Stone, will attend a Florida facility. In addition to Yusha, other division winners were Pete Pristach (boys under- 18), Jill Hetherington (girls under-16) and Denise Bar- biero (girls under:18). All three are from Toronto. The victories entitle all four to one week at a train- ing camp of their choice in the States. under-13 categories. Each participant had to compete in at least five of the seven stops in, the series, with points from the top five fin- ishes being accumulated. MOTORCYCLE INSURANCE 579-1330 CALL US FOR YOUR At the risk of publicizing mere suspicions, I think Lianne (who admitted to {he she enjoyed the challenge) got tired of the “token" label, and that it indirectly motivated her to seek refuge elsewhere. A gifted writer in her own righ has now found her niche as a news and feature wri‘ Toronto. Not the point though; as more and more females proii- ferated the sports media, there became strength in numbers and women reporters demanded equal access to "get the story." _ - l A - _ The situation heightened last year when a female writer for Sports Illustrated was granted legal access to the New York Yankee clubhouse - the battlefield of all battlefields. So what happened? Let's quote Record colleague Fran Campbell after, povering a Yankee - Blue_Jay_game in 1977. Now the Yankees didn't do that solely to avoid roving female eyes. Everyone knows being interviewed in New York is like being grilled by the police who suspect you com- mitted, the most heinous Crime. But’the fact remains, the sanctity of the dressing room has all but disappeared as more and more sports clubs allow females in. Players, exhibitionists very few, must squirm around in tiny cubicles, jump out of their pinstripes a robes, towels or whatever is handy. Cover-up is n password to stadia catacombs. Granted, female repor rs are not there to ogle at the "hunks" but as Yankee pitcher Catfish Hunter unashamedly quipped one day, "Contrary to popular belief, all men are not created equal." Now before all you Waterloo femmes get on my back and call me perverted, sexist, and biased, let me go on record - I totally agree that female reporters should be granted equal access to players and coaches. " 8 That's exactly why I'm bitching now. Last week, Toronto Star sports writer Alison Gordon was denied access to the Texas Ranger clubhouse. And just to be fair to her, a player representative from the Rangers in- formed the 38 or so male reporters that they were denied access too. ... "Covering a Yankee game is like covering theatre," Fran said to me. "After the game most of the players go and hide in the training room until youleave. So you end up with noth- ing but your own opinions." Many media types in Toronto were outraged by the in- cident. But not Rex McLeod of the Star, who asked on Mon- day the most logical question I've heard regarding the con- troversy. What in hell is so great about dressing rooms? Most morning editions, those who have to meet the ear- liest deadlines, go without quotes a good percentage of the time anyway. I feel all reporters would get a much better angle by meeting with participants after they've calmed down, relaxed and can offer a completely rational and in- telligent account of the game. Not like "yeh, it felt good to hit that home run." My method is to either reach a player before he hits the dressing room, take him aside for a nice quiet conversation, or else wait until he's through dressing. Of course, there are exceptions, like when the team wins the "big" one and im- mediate comments make a cute, if somewhat silly, sidebar. By meeting in a common room, the male/female problem would not come into play, everyone would have equal access and it would be left to the skills of each reporter to get the "best" story. " Myself, I have not had the greatest luck with dressing room interviews, although admittedly only one involved a pro team. High school athletes, junior A and B hockey players, and even university athletes in this city get h to death by their buddies if theyYe seen within 50 f reporter. Generally though, I am not that interested in entering steamy. stinking rooms, slipping on tape and orange peels and tripping over a dozen pair of legs to confront some poor embarrassed and inhibited sucker. It wouldn't matter if those M gams belonged to the shape- liest female athletes in town, either. Since this entire con- troversy arose last year. I have been asked more than once "Wouldn't you love interviewing a room of naked females?" To be tritthiul, of course in 'fantasy. But not in reality. Because I'm a firm believer that the body, be it male or female, is a very sacred thing. I wish I couUfsay the same for dressing rooms