New NFL Players Association executive director Lloyd Howell hasn’t picked many fights with the NFL. He’s sort of picking one with the media.
As explained by Mark Maske of the Washington Post, Howell wants to restrict media access to the locker room.
“What I was hoping to achieve on behalf of the membership is . . . to accurately articulate how they feel,” Howell told the Post during a recent interview. “And they do not want to be interviewed when they’re naked. [And] to open the door for doing some solutioning of what could be more effective.”
The union has discussed the issue with the NFL and the Pro Football Writers of America. Howell insists that the NFLPA doesn’t want to keep reporters from doing their jobs — which consists of giving plenty of free publicity for the NFL (which is why the league mandates access).
“I’ve heard and I’ve seen all the reasons why the media is hesitant or resistant to changing it: [Players] duck out of the back. They don’t want to do the interview. The list goes on and on,” Howell said. “But there are other ways to kind of address those challenges, too. . . . The desire isn’t in any way to prevent [reporters from having access to players]. The desire is, ‘Let me be decent.’ ”
Maske notes that the NFL’s 2024 media policy has been set and distributed. Any changes likely wouldn’t happen until 2025.
“We want to respect the players’ privacy to get dressed,” PFWA president Calvin Watkins told Maske. “I don’t think any reporter wants to talk to a butt-naked player. However, there are already rules in place for the player to have privacy before doing the interview. We have reiterated that to the union.”
The NFLPA has suggested having players and reporters interact in a separate zone, and about extending the 10-to-15-minute waiting period before locker rooms are open.
“It’s a challenge to the model where the model is, ‘I want to be in the dressing room with individuals that are in varying degrees of…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nflpa-wants-restrict-media-access-185511598.html
Author : ProFootball Talk on NBC Sports
Publish date : 2024-07-26 18:55:11
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