Opinion: Please Help Me Believe There’s Anything Other Than Systemic Harassment Taking Place
I don’t feel a need to explain how much I love the Jets, I think that writing daily on this site, for the past six years, is testament enough. If one really loves someone in life, sometimes addressing difficult issues for their betterment, with “tough love”, is the right thing to do. It pains me to so openly point out some serious concerns I have about the Jets organization. But there seems to be a growing perception of systemic misogyny through some recent unfortunate incidents.
I don’t imagine that my words will change the way that professional sports operate, or the way that players conduct themselves, or that all fans who read this will suddenly all agree with my opinion, but to silently allow the issue to continue, in my mind, wouldn’t be right either. Also, let’s be very clear that I’m not saying that I live a perfect life and haven’t learned lessons the hard way, but if we waited for someone to who has lived a wholly virtuous life to address this, then we might be here for a while.
This opening statement is of course pre-text to the presently alleged event of former Jet QB Brett Favre sexting former Jets Game Day Host Jenn Sterger reported on Deadspin and now the subsequent harassment of massage therapists coming forward. Over the past months since this story was first hinted at by Deadspin, I’ve had this story confirmed to me by multiple independent sources who knew about this, saw the pictures, etc. But beyond just Favre’s inappropriate actions, I’m also talking about the Ines Sainz incident, and yes … even the Gate D situation of a few years back.
Why bring up old wounds? Because they are just that, wounds. Sexual harassment is no trivial thing, and for any to use excuses like, ‘This happened years ago,’ or, ‘She wasn’t even an employee,’ or, ‘Favre isn’t even here anymore’ are arguments in poor taste.
“We view these as isolated incidents,” said Bruce Speight, Jets spokesman, by phone on Friday. “And we took a proactive approach when they were brought to our attention.”
It’s a fair statement if the only concern is to address harassment from a reactionary standpoint. Pro-actively they need to set forth establishing new guidelines to prevent such situations in the future, and as far as I can tell, there is no such plan in place for the Jets.
The way that the Jets are addressing the situation, it would appear to me that Jets can only act on wrongdoing that they know about after the fact, by the mounting evidence, they are terrible at preventing it.
Finding blame in sexual harassment can be a tricky thing, which is why forward thinking organizations have zero or near-zero tolerance policies when it comes to harassment of any kind. I’ve requested a copy of the Jets harassment policy, and will post what I find out, when I know more.
At the business where I work, all parties (harasser, harassed, witness), no matter their employment status, in the case of any sexual harassment can be culpable if they don’t immediately bring up the incident. More often than not, it should be the witness for whom is the easiest to act. Of course, some parties might be less culpable than others (specifically the harassed, for obvious reasons), but the point that harassment, or even perceived harassment should be immediately addressed by all involved directly or indirectly is tantamount to making the system work and to prevent hostile environments, and future incidents.
Let’s look at the scenarios.
Gate D. The sporting facility was rented/owned respectively by the Jets & New Jersey Sports Exposition Authority organizations. In the case of Gate D, NJSEA employees ran the facility and were in charge of security. Despite NJSEA’s responsibility, incidents have happened frequently as a longstanding tradition. Jets fans acted as the harasser, harassed and witness. While it would be nice for Jets fans to police themselves, the NJSEA was the truer police of the situation; this policing is part of their contractual obligation. Despite the frequency of the events, as well as easily verifiable evidence by simply watching Gate D during the games, neither the NJSEA nor the Jets took proactive steps to curb the abhorrent behavior. Failure to act ultimately made both organizations appear to be responsible. If there is any good news out of this, it’s that in the new stadium security is directly controlled by the team, so there should be no excuses for these type of issues.
Inez Sainz. In the case of Sainz, inappropriate statements of a sexual and derogatory manner were being made in the locker room for an indeterminate duration. It wasn’t until a reporter (witness) intervened to the harassed (Sainz) as a Jets PR staffer (witness, but seemingly with more authority in the situation than the reporter) looked on. The reporter’s intervention was then rebuked by Kris Jenkins. Action on the matter by the Jets PR staffer was not immediate, and thus the team appears to be responsible both by not being proactive to the incident. While the team did immediately contact Joanne Gerstner at the American Women in Sports Media, it was again reactionary in nature.
Jenn Sterger. In the case of Sterger, the original story was broken by Deadspin on 8/6/10. We’re led to believe by Deadspin that she was not only approached in an inappropriate manner, but that she unequivocally declined, and also that Favre had the help of a fellow Jets employee, Jets Media Relations Manager Jared Winley in approaching her multiple times in order to initiate some sort of relationship that Sterger did not want. Action on the matter wasn’t immediate, ultimately making the organization appear to be not only negligent in duty, but potentially complicit in the sexual harassment of Sterger.
Massage Therapists. In the case of Favre and the massage therapists, the original story was broken by Deadspin and the Post on 8/8/10. The women received “nasty” messages from Favre, who allegedly would not apologize to one of the therapists’ husband, and who were told by a lawyer that since they were contractors, their claims had no merit. Whoever that lawyer was, clearly his degree isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on, something which Florio and I actually seem to agree on. This matter is still working itself out, but sounds like another cautionary tale of poor pro-activity and maybe even worse reactivity. I can only conclude that the lawyer in question was an in-house counsel for the Jets (translation: hack) who had the team’s, not the therapists, best interests at heart.
On Thursday, Deadspin Editor-in-Chief AJ Daulerio wrote about this, saying the following.
The Jets have issued a statement through Sunshine PR, saying that "this is the first they’ve heard of this situation." The team also made it known that Sterger was a contractor hired to work on game days only, and that she didn’t work directly for the Jets
Daulerio mentions Sunshine, Sachs & Associates, whom I called today to better understand the quote to the Deadspin Editor. Upon my reading of the part about her being a contractor, caused me serious concern. The specific status (employee, contractor) holds in a workplace doesn’t provide immunity from harassment laws, and I was hoping that wasn’t what the Jets thought, which is why I pressed the matter and was referred by the team to Sunshine, Sachs & Associates.
Mr. Jesse Derris said that Daulerio repeatedly referred to Sterger as an “employee” and Sunshine told Daulerio that they wanted to make clear her status as a contractor. “[Sunshine, Sachs & Associates was] correcting an anticipated error in the story [by Deadspin], nothing more.”
So while it’s clear she was not an employee, it doesn’t acquit the Jets organization of workplace harassment, it just adjusted any potential foul-ups about her 1099 status.
In any organization, sexual harassment can happen to employees, vendors, contractors, guests … it doesn’t matter who writes their paycheck, unwelcome sexual advances in the workplace are, just that, unwelcome and in the workplace. And just because something wrong happened in the past doesn’t sanctify it in the present, whether that player is still on the team or no longer there. Harassment is harassment, plain & simple.
Ms. Sterger might not have reported what Favre did at the time, but AJ Daulerio at Deadspin seems eager to fill in the gaps.
Daulerio said Sterger did not provide the photos and voicemails and declined comment for his post. "She doesn’t want to be seen as Rachel Uchitel," Daulerio said of Sterger, referring to one of Tiger Woods’ mistresses, "even though she didn’t do anything wrong. It would be interesting to get her take on it."
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"There is a pattern of recklessness with athletes that seems alarming," Daulerio said. "He’s a high-profile, public person. For him to engage in this kind of behavior – we think that is newsworthy."
Sadly, as far as we know, Sterger didn’t in fact report the incident at the time to the team (which according to the Jets, we can imply that she didn’t). Unless she breaks her silence, it only leaves doubt about whether the allegations were actual harassment or something else.
My meaning? Her role in the matter will always (rightly or wrongly) be suspect because of her subsequent actions. Personally, I believe her to be a legitimate victim, which makes the whole thing even sadder because she was subjected to something she shouldn’t have been, and she is apparently ok with it, and that as part of becoming a Jets contractor, sexual harassment wasn’t properly addressed. Sterger’s inaction, and then subsequent sharing of this correspondence with others (a third party who then shared them with AJ) have left her status and credibility in the matter suspect.
This second set of massage therapists is tragic too, since they received terrible legal counsel from a questionable source.
When a specific type of event happens once, it is “isolated.” When it happens a second time, it is an unusual recurrence. However, the more it happens, the less one can live with the cognitive dissonance and try and ignore the problem. It has gone from an isolated event to something else that might be systemic. No matter what the team might say, there is a pattern here.
Since this Sterger story broke yesterday, TheJetsBlog has been approached by a former Gameday Ops (i.e. JetsFest) intern who said that a few years ago, interns were mandated to wear sparkly, tight-fitting official Reebok materials that left little to the imagination. When female interns pushed back on concerns of decency, they were rebuffed by their boss in the Jets organization (someone who has since left the team) and told it was NFL sanctioned clothing, end of story. How tight the shirt was, what the outfit specifically was is irrelevant. The interns (yet another status in the workplace who should be afforded equal protection) voiced their concerns, and they were not addressed.
I’m not foolish enough to think that this is a Jets only problem; other players in the league have let us know a little about such bad behavior.
Just this past May, Kansas City WR Dwayne Bowe was caught bragging about his teammates ‘importing’ women . Even NFL Golden Boy Peyton Manning was flagged for allegedly engaging in “horseplay” back in college, and then later in his alleged barging in on a former Colts cheerleader in her hotel room. While we’re a long way from the days of former Patriot Zeke Mowatt’s abhorrent acts to Lisa Olson, it’s clear that there’s still room for betterment within the league. It’s clear that the Jets aren’t alone on this, but it’s certainly true that they are getting more than their fair share of ink around these incidents.
Still, even if the Jets are getting more than their fair share, it’s only because these stories are coming to light with greater frequency. Greater numbers of people are willing to be witnesses to actions that are inappropriate. If two people are driving over the speed limit on the highway, and one gets caught by a cop and the other doesn’t, it doesn’t make the person who didn’t get caught right… it just means they didn’t get caught by the cop.
Sunshine, Sachs PR did claim that the Jets didn’t know about this matter with Sterger until very recently; meaning they did not know about it two months ago when this story first was hinted at on Deadspin.
On that count, I have no facts so this is totally my opinion, but that is something that I personally find very hard to believe. The talk of these pictures was all over major market sports radio for days after Deadspin hinted at this… this can’t be the first the team is hearing about this can it? Are they that naive to the fact that they were tangentially the butt of the jokes about Favre’s orange clogs or whatever Internet-wide for the past few months?
And what about Goodell and the league office? Not one of them got wind of this months ago when it hit Deadspin and informed the team? So a league which is overly sensitive to how players talk in a locker room in moments when they are most vulnerable to speaking candidly about the league officiating are suddenly ignorant when it comes to players talking or acting towards women in a much more derogatory manor?
The political phrase “willfully ignorant” comes to mind.
I don’t know specifically what I’m asking for to change. I don’t know that it ever will in professional sports, but I do know that I’m seeing something that is increasingly hard for me to ignore as a fan. I’ve called out the organization for not acting immediately, but also have to practice on the matter which I’m calling them to action.
Like any witness to harassment, it’s my job to take that toughest step forward, the very first one, and address the situation with you, the fans. It’s my job to tell the truth about what I saw, but beyond that, it’s up to authorities to do right and restore the situation by taking whatever justice is merited.
I’ve done my part … now it’s up to the Jets and the NFL to do theirs.
96 Responses to Opinion: Please Help Me Believe There’s Anything Other Than Systemic Harassment Taking Place
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Bassett—
Your piece here is inflammatory in a way that is not at all useful in terms of getting at the facts. Indeed, you repeatedly say, “I have no facts,” and “This is tototally my opinion.”
Which means that your contribution to the subject is all air and no substance. So much so you’re beginning to sound a little bit like Glenn Beck.
And here’s why:
1. Inez Sainz herself has said she wasn’t offended or troubled by what happened to her at Florham Park. So why should anyone else be concerned about it.
2. Two of the incidents you cite allegedly involve Brett Favre, who clearly should be held accountable for his behavior, and one of the incidents allegedly involves a Jets employee, Winley, who also should be held accountable for his actions—if the allegations are proven to be true. The problem, according to you own piece, is that no allegations of harrassment or wrongdoing were made by the women who allegedly suffered at the hands of Favre and Winley.
3. If no allegations were made, how are the Jets responsible in this matter?
So, to sum up, it appears that
a. You admit you have no facts.
b. You admit that what you are saying is 100% opinion.
c. You don’t bring to light any specific allegations made by any women who were allegedly harrassed.
d. You make sweeping allegations against the Jets organization—that there us a “pattern” of aiding and abetting sexual harrassment—-based upon what exactly? Hearsay? Rumor? A badly thought-out press release?
It’s quite possible that Favre and Winley are guilty of sexual harrassment, Bassett. But we don’t know that yet.
All of which is to say, before you go levelling allegations yourself, maybe it would be a good idea to actually secure some genuine evidence—some facts—to support thos allegations.
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I think you spelled “Keith Olberman” incorrectly in the second paragraph of your reply.
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Nafstejyn—
I’ve never watched Olberman on MSNB—and on NBC, when I see him pretending to know something about football, I change the channel—so maybe that’s why your comment makes no sense to me at all.
But I’m guessing it has something to do with me mentioning Glenn Beck. If you’re saying that Olberman does the same thing as Beck—making ridiculous assertions without any evidence to support them—then I’ll have to take your word for it.
But it’s clear that this is what Bassett has done here: he even ADMITS repeatedly that he has evidence—no facts—to support his allegation, and then goes on to make it anyway—that the Jets have aided and abetted sexual harrassment in a SYSTEMIC way.
That would be like saying that you, Nafstejyn, had committed some crime without offering any evidence that you actually did anything.
In other words, just because Bassett—or anyone else—FEELS that an organization has done something wrong, doesn’t make it true.
As for whether or not Favre himself has done something wrong, well, as I said above, it’s quite possible that he has. But these are serious allegations. And if you or Bassett or anyone else wants said allegations to matter, why not just provide the evidence, why not just stick to the facts?
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First let me start of with the fact that I’ma HUGE Jets fan and always have been. Second, there are a lot of problems with what you said, Ben.
1.)Just because Inez was “ok” with the harassment doesn’t mean it wasn’t wrong nor should it be a way to excuse peoples actions or words towards others. It’s a bit extreme, but, for instance, assisted suicide. Just because a person may want to die or be killed, by no means does it make it “ok” for another person to take action on that persons wishes.The fact that someone is ok with something, doesn’t imply that it will be ok with anyone else and doesn’t warrant a exemption for being responsible to what come out of their mouth or their actions. So if someone does take offense to a similar incident, is what that player did only wrong because the victim said something about it? It’s wrong regardless!
2.)Like I said before, just because there are no allegations made by the women doesn’t mean that players aren’t responsible for what they do. Yes, I understand that coming from a legal and managerial aspect, you want facts and such so you can be sure you take appropriate disciplinary actions. But the fact is that, of all reported cases of sexual assault (harassment being under the umbrella of sexual assault), only 2% of them are proven false. Which is the same statistical amount for any other cases of violent crime we see. SO the chances that all of these allegations being true are extremely high.
You also should consider how women might feel, trying to confront something she might not be comfortable with. How would you feel if because of your allegations a player was suspended, and all the fans hated you because all they want to see is the players in the game. Not only that, but think of the effect a woman reporter’s harassment allegations might have on her employment. She wouldn’t have a job if no one wanted to watch her. Therefore, the repercussions of reporting cases of sexual assault can and usually are very substantial and often deter women from reporting such things.
3) So with all that said, the Jets organization and the players themselves, should be held accountable for all actions they make. What Bassett was trying to get at in his blog was being PROACTIVE about incidents like these. So instead of trying to figure out where the blame should be put, who did this and that and so on, AFTER the incident happens, the Jets organization should be implementing policies so that these incidents don’t happen at all. The Jets are responsible for making every effort to ensure things like this don’t happen. Clearly, they haven’t been doing there job at all. The lack of such policies is ignorance on the Jets part.
a) Might not be fact, but there is a 98% chance it is.
b) Yea its a blog. Why wouldn’t it be 100% opinion.
c)(See above, part 1 and 2)
d)There had to have been some sort of action by the player to encourage such allegations. Yea, there is gossip and drama and writers like to blow things our of proportion at times. But when it is all said and done, everything stems from the players actions. And the responsibility those action falls on the players and the organization. It’s important to note that it is never the victims fault for someone getting sexually assaulted. I don’t understand why people make it so complicated. It’s simple, who ever perpetrated the sexual assault is the one who should always be held responsible. And in all these cases, which are probably all true, a jet player is responsible for each and every incident. NO EXCUSES!
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Seth—
1. You write: “There had to have been some sort of action by the player to encourage such allegations.”
There are at least two problems with your logic here. First, all of the allegations so far have come from anonymous sources. There have been no public allegations made by any woman detailing what was done to her.
Second, just because someone alleges misconduct does not automatically prove that the allegations are true.
Someone, for instance, could allege anonymously that you, Seth, are a child molester, and by your own logic, then, that would automatically mean that you are. Which is just nuts.
In Favre’s case, it’s quite possible that he is guilty of sexual misconduct and/or sexual harrassment, but right now, we don’t yet know if this is true.
_______________2. You write: “. . .just because there are no allegations made by the women doesn’t mean that players aren’t responsible for what they do.”
Again, there are at least two problems with your logic here. First, you seem to be saying that someone how I suggested that players shouldn’t be held accountable for their actions. But that’s not what I said. If you don’t believe me, just scroll up and take a look.
Or to save you some time, here’s exactly what I said: “Two of the incidents you [Bassett] cite allegedly involve Brett Favre, who clearly should be held accountable for his behavior, and one of the incidents allegedly involves a Jets employee, Winley, who also should be held accountable for his actions—if the allegations are proven to be true.”
So it should be clear that I’m saying that Favre SHOULD be held accountable for his actions.
Second, my point about no accusations being made by the women in question had to do not with Favre, but with accusations Bassett made against the Jets organization. If Favre did indeed do what these anonymous sources allege that he did—send inappropriate texts to several women—how is the Jets organization supposed to KNOW about this behavior UNLESS ALLEGATIONS ARE MADE?
Bassett has made a sweeping accusations against the Jets organization—that there is a “pattern” of the organization aiding and abetting sexual harrassment in a “systemic” way—without any evidence, without any facts, to substantiate his own accusation.
Bassett even ADMITS that he has “no facts,” and that everything he is saying is “100% opinion.” Which is inexcusable.
To prove a pattern of systemic aiding and abetting of sexual harrassment by an organization, you need proof. Take, for example, the sex scandals within the Catholic Church. There are paper trails and documented testimony demonstrating that those in authority within the Church knew about specific and numerous accusations of sexual misconduct committed by priests, and those in authority not only did nothing about this, but even covered it up.
To date, there is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that anything even remotely similar has occurred within the Jets organization. There is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that those in authority within the Jets organization knew of any sexual misconduct and did nothing, or covered it up.
And it is highly irresponsible to suggest otherwise.
______________3. You write: “Just because Inez [Sainz] was ‘ok’ with the harassment doesn’t mean it wasn’t wrong nor should it be a way to excuse peoples actions or words towards others.”
First, no one at all has alleged that there was any sexual “harassment” involved in the Sainz case. No one is alleging that Sainz was forced, or that there was any attempt to force, Sainz to do anything sexual against her will.
No one is alleging that Sainz was contacted—or texted or spoken to—in an inappropriate manner.
No one is alleging that Sainz was touched or fondled or groped.
If Sainz had been fondled or groped or touched in an inappropriate manner, if she had even been spoken to, or texted, in an inappropriate manner, then, yes, you could make a case here that steps needed to be taken against the player who transgressed.
But no one is alleging that Sainz was fondled or groped or touched—or even spoken to—in an inappropriate manner.
So in such a case when there is no allegation from any witness that any such violation occurred, then, yes, it would clearly be up to the woman in question—Sainz herself—to say whether she thought anything offensive had happened. And Sainz has said repeatedly that nothing offensive had occurred.
_______________4. You write: “Yea its a blog. Why wouldn’t it be 100% opinion.”
Opinion about the comparative football prowess of a particular player is one thing. But when someone who runs a blog, as Bassett does, makes a serious allegation against an organization, as Bassett did—claiming that there is a “pattern” of the Jets organization aiding and abetting sexual harrassment in a “systemic” way—then, yes, that blogger damn well better have some evidence—some facts—to back up what he’s saying.
Otherwise, the man flinging such unsubstantiated accusations is guilty of questionable moral behavior himself.
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I’m not gonna spend all my time on this blog cause it isn’t going to get any where, but sexual harassment doesn’t have to involve force at all. Something as little as “cat calling” or making comments about someone in a sexual nature can be considered sexual harassment. Nothing physical has to happen. If it isn’t want then it is considered abuse or harassment. And to know something is wanted or consensual you need explicit verbal agreement or you cant be sure. So because someone doesn’t say it bothers them, doesn’t mean they are saying they are ok with it.
Yes, I understand that proof is the best thing to get to the bottom of things, but what I was trying to say is that 98% of allegations are true and that means that people almost never lie about things like this. And you calling me a child molester is a lot different then a women “claiming” that a man sexual harassed her.
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Jesus Christ, Seth, did you even read what I wrote before responding to it?
I said that no one at all has alleged that there was any sexual “harassment” involved in the Sainz case.
No one is alleging that Sainz was spoken to—or any noises or comments were made to her—in an inappropriate manner.
No one is alleging that anything nonconsensual happened with Sainz at all.
And no one with any knowledge of the situation has made any allegation against the Jets organization that those in authority were aware of any sexual harassment, and did nothing about it, or covered it up.
No one with any knowledge of the situation has made any allegation that there’s been “a pattern” within the Jets organization of those in authority aiding and abetting sexual harassment in a “systemic” way.
So it’s just pure crap for Bassett to claim that he FEELS this is the case. Even though he has “no facts”—no evidence—to support what he says.
Also, I didn’t say you were a child molester, Seth. I said that sometimes people make anonymous claims about others that aren’t true.
It happens all the time.
Right now, as you’re reading this, someone on the internet somewhere is making an anonymous claim against someone else that isn’t true.
I’m glad to hear that you understand that “proof is the best thing to get to the bottom of things.”
But when such serious allegations are involved, proof is not just the “best” way to get to the bottom of things, Seth, it’s the ONLY way.
Everything else is just air.
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Well researched and spoken B. As a lifetime Jets fan I’ll always defer to the green and white but when an issue as serious as this needs to be called out I hold no allegiance. I’d like to think my team, on the whole, is better than this but when behaviors become systemic, and management turns a blind eye, then us fans should be duty bound to raise a voice. I’d like to think that our on-the-field talent was surpassed by our off-the-field dignity but unfortunately that is not always the case. Come on Jets! I love your potential as a SB bound team but I want to cheer your class as well as your athleticism.
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Brian – I agree with what you posted here! I’m concerned that the PR department was supposedly involved with trying to give/get numbers to Sterger.
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When has one person become a department? And if Brett Favre asked you to exchange numbers for him than your lying!
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So Its Managements Fault Favre was hitting on staff members? Ok makes perfect sense.
The mexican reporter incident was just players goofing around. Brett Favre was serious while the past incident was a joke!
She didnt even complain people around blew it out of proportion she evn got mad because people made it something it wasn’t.-
Just because she didn’t complain at the time, doesn’t mean it’s not harassment.
Perfect example is this whole thing with Favre & Sterger.
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Dont even compare the two because it is nothing alike.
Amd it was two completely different teams so their is no pattern just a blogger with a knack for blowing things out of proportion.
I love The Jets Blog but this and the mysterious Mcknight hate is saddening.
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Sorry man but harassment is harassment and it’s the responsibility of our great organization to educate our players as to what society dictates as acceptable. “Goofing around” is not just a joke when people are intimidated or made to feel uncomfortable. It’s just not cool and we shouldn’t be making excuses for our players when they don’t behave like gentlemen. We’re frickin’ huge in exposure now and we’re gonna act like a bunch of hooligans? I’m not with that.
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But nobody even knows what they did! A woman can be uncomfortable b naked men walking around in a locker room!
How can you call it sexual harassment when you dont even know what they did!
Also I guess every man has done it if throwing a ball in a womans direction to go get it is sexaul harrassment.
Here you all go finding something to whine and complain about.-
I’m not looking to whine and complain, I really just want to enjoy what I think can be a very special season for my team. We haven’t had too many seasons to celebrate as we all know. But the last thing I want is to have to justify to my wife and daughters how our team behaves when in the presence women. Are all these allegations justified or substantiated? No. But they do give me cause to worry and the facts that I have heard are unacceptable as a husband and father that’s wrestling to have my Sunday afternoons free to cheer my team.
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Brett Favre Incident has nothing to do with The Jets Point Blank Period.
And The Ines Incident was investigated and nothing of sexual harassment was discovered.
The only thing holding you people back from enjoying this season is yourselves.
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OK, heres the thing, both girls did not report it. Inez said that she didn’t want to make more out of it than it was. Jenn didn’t provide the information according to her. Now, I’m not defending the conduct of men acting like children. But I’m not excusing women who dress like their clothes were painted on i.e. Inez and her blue genes and eye popping assets. Please don’t get me wrong, but the only woman (if Farve is innocent to know) will be his wife. If she sees the photos and say’s “thats my boy” well ok. But neither one of these girls wanted to make a big thing of there issues but were brought to light by outside sources. I would like to give most of the players the benefit of the doubt.
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This better not become a Jets issue. Whatever Favre did is his own fault and not the fault of the team. I swear if this turns into another negative Jets story I’m gonna flip.
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I agree Wyatt & bass 100% this is something that can be handled by the organization and loved and respected by fans and possibly shining them in a good public light. The team has the most public exposure its ever had right now and Can use that to their advantage and make a very strong push to get this problem addressed. Resulting in public sympathy witch won the saints a super bowl. Far reach I know but forgive me for being optimistic.
GO JETS!
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Andrew Weiss says:
With all due respect, take it down a few notches.
First, anything Favre did he did two years ago. Your timing seems more like a personal agenda than a piece of journalism.
Meanwhile, if a forty year old man, away from home, who’s been indulged all his life, and who’s got a lot of money tries to hit on a young woman, or several young women, I think that might be a scenario that has played out before, and not just in Jet’s camp. I don’t care much for a married man hitting on young women but I’m not a prude or a scold and I’ve seen it before. As for the way he went about it, particularly with the photos, I think its grotesque and pathetic, but hardly anything I’m going to take as a sign of the decline in western civilization.
As for Ines Sainz, she dresses inappropriately to go into a locker room where there are forty young men who get paid to pour out testosterone by the barrel. We pay these young men to engage in combat with one another. Combat that, in our ancestors and our primate cousins has one purpose–as a sexual display. So, these men, heated from their mock combat, return to their private area where a woman arrives wearing clothes that look like they are paint instead of fabric. Yet, they ought to be perfect gentlemen? I think that’s asking a lot. I doubt I would be a perfect gentleman under the circumstances.
Meanwhile, the young woman in question, to my knowledge, never said what was being said to her and, frankly, I’ve met many women who would find the attention of young, fit men flattering, even if their comments and catcalls were over the top and even explicitly sexual. If she really wanted to be accepted in that locker room, instead of making a fuss and getting her name in the paper, why didn’t she give back as good as she got and tell the Jets that everything was really ok? I’ve seen young women cut men dead and I’ve always admired them for it. We’ve become such an intrusive society and we so publicly interfere in each other’s lives that it makes me wonder if anyone is safe to have an impulse anymore.
Frankly, your plea to the NFL to become involved or to insert themselves still more into the Jet’s clubhouse or team bus or wherever such formerly private matters have now become public, is irresponsible and unconscionable. I, for one, couldn’t care less what you think about harassment or the rights of women. I have two grown daughters and, it seems to me, there are a lot of things more worth worrying about than who said what to whom. My daughters, could certainly have dealt with any one of these incidents without any help from sanctimonious, hypersensitive journalists. In fairness, this isn’t exactly assault, is it? Has anyone’s skin been breached? Was there blood on the floor? I know words can do harm but there is also a doctrine of free speech that ought to be respected. Have we now sacrificed our rights on behalf of always respecting every other human’s right to do whatever stupid thing they want whenever they want without interference, no matter how unkind, ill-advised, inappropriate or untimely?
There are more than two billion people on this planet who can’t get fresh water. Lets’ try to develop a sense of proportion.
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+1
Seriously! Favre did that all on his own that has nothing to with the Jets, and he has probably done it many times before then!
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Andrew Weiss,
As a father of 2 daughters myself I’m absolutely aghast by your statement…“Has anyone’s skin been breached? Was there blood on the floor?”
Are you saying that any behavior short of that is acceptable?
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What I’m saying is that this article is a disproportionate response to a two year old episode involving a guy that most of us suspected, behaved that way anyway. I don’t know what motivated the piece but it’s a reach and its a little sad. Moreover, it targets the Jets when they are hardly the worst offenders in this regard. Where’s the journalism? There must have been a hundred similar incidents reported from every team in the league. What about the infamous Vikings cruise, or Roethlisberger raping a young woman in a bar? Why isn’t this piece about the NFL’s systemic misogyny? Not to put too fine a point on it, but doesn’t just about every team in the league put a couple of dozen scantily clad women out on the field every Sunday to make explicitly sexual movements on camera? Doesn’t that objectify women more thoroughly and consistently than Brett Favre’s pathetic email which, despite Deadspin, he intended to be private?
In contemporary culture, I find lots of things objectionable. Still, I’d fight to let an antisemite say his piece, and you should, too. We can’t take what we think is objectionable and make laws to protect ourselves from them. We have to learn to make finer distinctions. Mostly, we have to learn to approach life with a little more balance and tolerance, even if we don’t like what other people say or do. Sexual harassment matters, of course. But, let’s exercise some restraint in what qualifies. And, let’s not see it in every wayward remark, or flirtatious excess, or in a desperate, aging old quarterback who wants to cheat on his wife.
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Andrew Weiss,
You did raise some very valid points that I did agree with but in the end I think you’re missing out on the humanity of the whole conversation. Yes, we can try to rationalize the whole “let the boys be boys” mindset but that ultimately shines a poor light on us all if we dismiss it as such.You can’t say things like “Has anyone’s skin been breached? Was there blood on the floor?” Period. That is bad form. Harassment and sexual impropriety manifests itself in many different forms and for you to imply that anything less than corporal transgression shouldn’t be considered inappropriate is ignorant. You seem like a bright guy and I would expect a more progressive POV from you.
I’m not jumping on the Favre issue or the KJ issue or the Sainz issue, etc, etc, in particular and saying “Oh lookee, lookee!” Just saying that maybe our players should be a bit more media savy at the least, or better yet, be better people.
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I understand both sides of what people are saying here. However, Andrew Weiss, everything you are saying about her clothes being inappropriate and how she should play along and give it back to them is shockingly absurd. This is a workplace. Anyone who has ever been employed with others, which is pretty much everyone here I assume, knows it doesn’t matter what your opinion is, all that matters is whether you act in a way that is acceptable. And you can’t give NFL players a free pass because of some pseudo-Freudian analysis of their livelihoods as sexual displays. Again, to get to what I think is most troubling is this: the reason the reporter wears what she wears is not because she just decides she wants to wear it. It is because her wardrobe is dictated by her media company, which is in turn dictated by the viewing public and whatever maximizes the flow of the viewing public’s money. I’m not trying to harp on the fact that the way women are portrayed in the media is troubling (is there a single unattractive anchor on NFL network? Males plenty. Females none). I’m also not trying to be any kind of holier-than-thou, considering I just spend a few good minutes marveling at her gorgeous backside. I’m only saying that it is troubling how backwards it is to say that she shouldn’t have been wearing what she was wearing. She didn’t have much choice in the matter, just like Hooters girls can’t throw on a cardigan if they’re cold. I love attractive women just as much as the next straight male, and I spend plenty of time trying to win their attraction as well. However, it is one thing to throw a football towards a hot girl at the beach. It is another thing to do it at work. It’s work. You just can’t do it at work. I’m not ready to denounce the jets organization for these issues, but if there’s one thing I will not due it’s excuse anyone’s behavior.
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While I agree with the assessment of the Sainz situation, you obviously have very little understanding of the sexual harassment laws in this country. While Favre’s actions may be normal mating rituals at Joe’s Bar and Grill, leaving suggestive voice mails and sending pictures of ones genitalia to an obviously unwilling participant at your place of employment is sexual harassment. Period. And since this harassment happened while Favre was an employee of the NY Jets, fair or not, that makes them culpable, at least according to our legal system. You may not personally agree with it, but that doesn’t make it less true.
But this is problem…people don’t look at the NFL as a place of employment or a business. It’s like some big playground for grown kids, and in many ways it is. But employment laws apply to the Jets and the NFL just like any other business, whether they like it or not.
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Regarding Sainz, I meant to say while I “personally” agree..not saying it was right, either. I just think that one was way overblown.
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Sorry I don’t really care about all of this. I’m not saying it is not serious but when there are guys like Rothlisberger, Dante Stallworth, Plaxico Burress, Ray Lewis and many others associated with violent situations and criminal behavior I think that the Jets organization (with the recent exception of Braylon Edwards) is doing fairly well among some of the other NFL organizations. There is a big difference between being sleazy / lecherous and being a violent criminal. If anyone in the Jets organization is encouraging or turning a blind eye to sexual harassment or other similar situations that is wrong and I don’t excuse it or approve of it but like I said in the beginning I really don’t care.
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This is beyond unnecessary. The only thing you’ve managed to do is get me off this blog until MNF. I’d rather hear you cry about LW a little more. No shots, but…. W/e it’s you’re blog…
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+1 He should go ahead and start a Seahawks blog and keep up to date with Leon and Charity
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First of all nobody is questioning your fan hood Bassett lol.
But We can’t put all the blame on the Jets, the blame goes all around, but mostly to the individuals involved.
I mean the Gate D incident was probably the hardest to judge so I won’t judge it, but the rest
The Favre and Sterger situation is on those 2, how would the Jets know a Married man to cancer suffering wife would do this. But the PR guy should have done something about it.
And the Iainz situation, I can’t blame the players at all, if a girl dresses like a prostitute and is hot ofcourse, of course you’re gonna stare, and they get offended after they look, its like when I dress up like a police officer, somebody reports a robbery, and I’m like no sir, I can’t help you, I’m not a cop, I’m just dressing like one.
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I think the alleged pattern here is incredibly weak. In the second paragraph of the massage therapist post at Deadspin, the therapist specifically said she never experienced anything inappropriate before Favre. In other words, Sterger and the therapists wasn’t a “Jets” harrassment issue, it was a Favre issue. It’s surprising that in this entire post Bassett didn’t deem that fact worthy of mention. (And let’s see who what turns up when rocks get turned over in Green Bay and Minnesota.) Holding the actions of one apparently entitled, self-absorbed and insatiable athlete against the Jets is like holding Tiger’s d-baggery against the entire PGA Tour. Ditto the Gate D stuff. It has nothing to do with the Jets organization or players. It was certain Jets fans and the NJSEA, which is not affiliated in any formal way with the Jets.
Granted, the Sainz incident should never have happened, was terribly inappropriate, and the team has addressed it aggressively in consultation with the Commissioner. So we have one incident that can fairly be described as involving the organization rather than private, clandestine acts of an individual player or negligence of an unaffiliated entity. Even in today’s journalistic world, it takes three examples — not one — to constitute a “trend.”
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Nice job Bassett.
I have the biggest problem with the Sainz issue. That is definately a direct issue with the team and coaches.
Gate D was a fan behavior issue and as you said is being handled differently with the team providing the security.
The Favre issue has to play itself out. If it does turn out to be true I would imagine you may find similar actions by Favre while at Green Bay and Minnesota.
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The misogyny in this thread is REALLY appalling.
“And the Iainz situation, I can’t blame the players at all, if a girl dresses like a prostitute and is hot ofcourse, of course you’re gonna stare”
For real?!?!? That’s all that happened?
I’m very saddened by the lack insight, compassion or sympathy exhibited by the above Jets fans.
This is the 21st century my friends, please try to keep that in mind
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Right on bro!
I guess if a chick is sexy and hot, she dresses like a prostitute. What if Sainz wasn’t a reporter and Woody Johnson’s neice. Yeah, I don’t think the Jets cat call or Basset says she dresses like a prostitute.
Not every one can rock the 44 inch waist Wranglers and xxl long sleeve shirts like Basset can.
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How do we know that Sterger was not sleeping with half the team? I have to imagine that this is very common, not making it right of course. But the fact that football players spend a teacher’s salary on one meal isn’t right either. It’s the sports obsessed world we live in. These guys walk on water in their own minds.
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Can we get some more Joe McKnight hate blog entry’s next. Like somebody else said, the females said they didn’t have any issues with anybody from Jets until Favre came along. This is a Favre issue not the Jets. Maybe you Bassett should apply to do security at Florham Park and prevent these issues from happening :)
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Bassett,
You made me proud to be a man.
As well as a Jets fan.
Well stated. It takes a very strong man to stand for what is right and just. Every player in the NFL can take a lesson from you this day.
This is what manhood truly is. Your child will grow up to be very proud of The Old Man, if you keep giving lessons like this.
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Bassett your way off base about this issue.
First of all almost every team has this issue and Sir Brett is known for this with the Packers (a playboy bunny).
Watch North Dallas Forty and lets get real.
People are out to try and bring the Jets down that’s all. -
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Why are you telling me to take it down? Because I am making sense?
Tell the guy who is cursing for no reason to take it down, better yet tell the people who aren’t making sense to shutup.Our team is 3-1 and flying high but you people cant help but focus on negatives. Im Done. Go Jets.
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Say what you want, that isn’t my concern though you seem to think it is. It’s just that your going off of anything moving and there is no need to jump down everyones throat.
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People will have their own opinion and you will have yours and that is all well and fine but at the end of the day you don’t have to use such a harsh tone. Nothing is accomplished when your pissed at everyone else it only creates a volatile environment.
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Thats very well written, but I think its a dream to ever expect any changes. Athletes, just like most people in positions of extreme wealth and power, are treated different than the average person. People bend over backwards for them. Look at the situation with Roethlisberger. If that was you or I odds are we would have been hauled off to jail or beaten up by some bouncer at the bar prior to the situation occurring. Rick Pitino was given the keys to a bar so he could have it to himself to have sex with a woman. Its a complete different set of rules. Doesnt make it right but that is the reality.
The NFL has an image to maintain, but at the same time they also have seats to sell and its a league that is driven by stars. Brett Favre is a star. Ray Lewis is a star. Ben Roethlisberger is a star. They cant afford to lose these players and make an example out of them when situations like this arise. They sweep most of the situations under the rug and keep their fingers crossed that a Jen Sterger never comes forward with this stuff.
I also think society does not take these types of acts as serious as others. The NBA has been hit hard in recent years because their players come off as thugs looking to fight and shoot their way through a season. DWIs, sexual harassment,and small domestic incidents just dont carry the same weight of a guy coming to an arena with a gun and threatening to kill his teammates.
Most athletes are like children. They get paid millions and millions of dollars to play a kids game. They behave like kids too. 15 years ago I would probably have thought what Favre did was kind of funny, just like how Im sure plenty of young men find it amusing what those guys on Jersey Shore do every week picking up women. As you get older its not so funny and then you have kids and its really not funny at all anymore. If anything its kind of sick. But in the NFL a 35 year old man is no different than a 18 year old going off to college.
Now the NFL is in a tough spot because the Jets have made a spectacle of themselves all year and this is just another bad situation involving the team. The NFL cant punish the players so in the end they will end up punishing the organization through fines or loss of draft choices.
What Favre did was inexcusable. The fact that the Jets seemed to help it along is also inexcusable. I dont find the other issues as bad as this one. Gate D was as much on the women as it was on the men there. There were women flashing the Fox guys (Terry Bradshaw in particular) after a game against the Bears in I think 2006. There was no instigation there at all. They chose to do it. I think some of the Sainz incident would have happened the same way on the field if some no name paper sent some geeky looking guy to do a story and he acted like he owned the field, though the comments would not have been the same.
But the Favre stuff is terrible. He and the Jets should be punished. The league should be all over ESPN and the networks to drop all the Favre lovefests and no longer put him on their regular season broadcasts. Nothing hurts Favre more than the loss of media coverage and the media hanging on his decision every year. They should make him feel like an outcast the way baseball made certain players seem like an outcast when they tested positive for drugs. Im not sure what to do to punish the Jets, but they should be held accountable in some way. Money doesnt matter to Woody. Loss of some 3rd round draft pick makes no difference to the team. There should be a way to make them take a hit in the PR department that the team desires so badly. That is the only way to hurt them, though I dont know how to actually do it. The Jets should know better than to aid their players in more or less harassing people hired by the organization to do a job.
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Jason,
Why do you think the Jets ought to be punished? Because some pathetic, star struck PR guy delivered a message two years ago for a guy who the head coach named his kid after and who got three column inches in every tabloid every time he took a leak?
Bad judgment isn’t criminal. At least not in this meager little nightmare.
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Bassett – love TJB, and respect your intentions with the article but thought it a bit heavy and ala Don Quixote – IMO you’re tilting at windmills as are most everyone who replied to this thread.
The Jets organization is at the end of the day simply another work environment, people, albeit quite unlike most others. Not suggesting the players should not be civil and respectful of all others, but we as fans put them on pedestals and in some of their own inflated minds they elevate themselves above the rest of us (and usually rue the consequences)…for those players who believe that they are “entitled,” well make your own judgment on if its cool to be one of the Big Ben’s of this world. Also, keep in mind, as a wise man once told me, that in matters between the opposite sex there will always be her side, his side, and the truth.
Lastly, I would be willing to wager every organization, like the one I work for, has mandatory training everyone must attend on workplace behavior, including this very topic. I’ve always been of the belief, however, that attending those sessions were highly unlikely to “train” anyone as to the difference between right and wrong. As one of the Supreme Court justices wrote long ago about pornography, I can’t tell you what it is, but I know it when I see it. And, so to, these guys (as we all do) should know when they’re crossing a line.
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For those that think that there is a disconnect between the actions of Favre and the Jets, specifically in regard to the Sterger and masseuse situations, this legal concept might be relevant to the discussion.
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Respondeat+superior
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I’m not opposed to your point Bassett, but with Sterger, it should be pointed out that she has the right to report Farve and the right not to. Her safety was never in jepordy therefore she should have the right to handle her attention however she sees fit. A zero tolerence policy takes away victims rights. I’ve have exp with people who have been sexualy assulted and the first, most important thing is to let them know they are incharge of themselves and if they said no or couldn’t say no then it’s not their fault.
Sexual harrassment shouldn’t be looked at any differently than any other form of harrassment. I think we all get harrassed at some point in our life and it’s up to us to report it or handle it on our own. In more extreme cases a witness should report it but in none of these cases did these women feel they were threatened and didn’t feel it was warranted or worth it to report what happened.
Lastly, zero tolerance has no discretion. they are blind policies from a management era to affraid to take responsibility. I don’t believe the Jets have an issue because over the years there really isn’t a pattern of behavior. If one woman get harrassed in ten years then that’s not bad, it’s actually good. Humans are falable, and make mistakes, and poor choices. I think one thing that concerns me, and you could have mentioned is that we could be in the middle of a trend and consistent behavior will show it’s self, but untill then…. you journalism skills are not in question with me :)
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I agree with everything, and hope that things change. However all I care about at this point in time is that my Jets haven’t won a Superbowl in my lifetime. Just win!
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I think you need to get out of your parents basement. The Jets winning a Superbowl is not really that important in the grand scheme of things.
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By the way, anyone think it’s weird that this is blowing up the week the Vikings play the Jets? I smell some b s
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It all makes sense now. No wonder Favre wanted to be a Viking so badly after he heard about the Love Boat scandle….
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1. You can go back to being a Chiefs fan
2. Accept that Sainz & Sterger wanted the attention 3. Realize that Tannenbaum doesn’t run a tight ship -
About the Sainz.. With the guys throwing the football in her direction. Wasn’t there a Corona commercial that just did the same thing???
The woman sitting on the beach and the football lands next to her and some guy comes, smiles and waves then takes off… Then the second woman appears and the first thing you see is her beautiful arse then she sits down and like 50 footballs come flying in!!! The rest of that incident is def debatable…
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those were all passes from Favre…I can tell because they were like rainbows to no one in particular.
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Should we include the infamous Namath/Kolber incident while we’re cataloging events?
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+1
I think Braylon Edwards offense was far more egregious considering he was with Donte Stallworth the night the vehicular manslaughter occurred.
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i’m in sympathy with the post, as it’s an attempt to deal seriously with a serious issue. some of the responses have been atrocious (note to andrew weiss, this is a jets blog, not an nfl blog, perhaps that’s why bassett didn’t write the post you’d prefer to read).
but sainz’ presence was a deliberate provocation and i have no issue with the players’ behavior.
otoh, the jets used to be one of the class organizations that didn’t have cheerleaders. perhaps they have some responsibility in changing the tone for the worse?
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What do cheerleaders have to do with this?
Every high school football team fields a cheerleading squad!
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wow,
Somebody is really becoming part of the media huh.
No offense but this def seems like a an article written to make a splash in the media and get a certain name exposed to the media more.
First, Gate D, was FANS being a**holes.
Then the hot Latina chick who said there was no harassment, but yet the media said there was, so i should believe the media has to be right. Not the women who went through it all right?
That makes no sense, I’ll believe people who can only speculate on a situation over a the person its about. Yeah, the does not compute.
Now Favre was sexting a cheerleader 2 years ago, yet the cheerleader again doesn’t seem to care, shoot what if she liked it? is it harassment then?
If so, then your saying, anytime I pinch my Gfs butt its harassment?
Now if she didn’t like it, and wants to say she was harassed then its all on FAVRE, not on the Jets. Favre was a 38 year old man, he makes his own choices to blame the jets is ridiculous, last i heard there was no clause in his contact that said he had to harass this chick
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+1
And certainly if Favre is accused and found guilty of this, he should be punished as Big Ben and the others were.You may resume with your regularly-scheduled TJB…
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With the Sainz incident, get back to us when someone actually gets some footage, tape recording or even an actual quote. Even she said the situation was, and I quote, amicable.
With the Favre situation, it would have been nice if the alegations were made, say, 2 years ago, and not days before Favre visits the Jets for (probably) the final time.
How about getting back to football and leaving this stuff for gossip columns. If Favre did this then these are questions for Favre to answer — not the Jets.
I mean: are we really asking if the organization under ERIC MANGINI was loose with standards.
GIVE ME A BREAK.
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BigKatt says:
seriously
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Thanks for posting this, Bassett, it needed to be said, and as long as it keeps happening it’ll need to be said again. Women are people, too. Shocking, I know!
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You’re right on with defending the rights of women, and all that, but to point to some sort of “systematic womanizing” within the Jets organization (and the NFL) is Glenn Beck style laughable.
These are grown men playing a sport that values testosterone and the “alpha male”. When American sports allows scantily clad female “reporters” to enter this realm – with the sole purpose of sexual arousal (Sainz, Sterger) – they reap what they sow. To blame the men involved is like blaming the Nile for flooding during the rainy season. Certain things in life and nature are factor-driven, not outcome-driven.
My only problem with Favre in this situation is the awkward and goofy way he went about his “seduction”. I mean, you are a future HOF quarterback, have a little more self confidence and élan. Not to mention that he was married. But to pin this on a culture and system of womanizing on behalf of the Jets…it just sounds absolutely foolish.
And the Gate D incident…my god anyone who is offending by this is a politically correct media puppet. Sex appeal: it’s the way the world works. It’s the way species SURVIVE. Learn to deal with it.
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When women quit using their sexuality as a tool for access into the sportsworld then and only then can change be met. Dressing not in business attire but tight clothes is a way of gaining access for interviews. Does a player want to talk to Cimini or the hot chick with the cleavage?
Now I know we live in a PC world. A woman is always in the right and a man is always perceived to be in the wrong, but common sense has to prevail at some point. Don’t invite an inappropriate situation by your manner of dress. Also, everybody needs to chill. There are cases where lines are crossed and it should be addressed, but most of the time crying harassment is just a way of getting back at another person for a grievance unrelated to the act reported.
We live in a “sue you” society because people want to make an easy fast buck. Luckily, we have the internet where one can voice opinions and can do so without the threat of retribution if that opinion is not to another’s liking.
I would venture to say that 2 out of 10 reported incidents do have merit, but the other 8 that do not have a stigma as well. Once accused of harassment, you become a harasser whether you did it or not. In the workplace, you are passed over for promotions just because of an allegation.
A slippery slope harassment presents.
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I think the one thing we can all agree on is its not good for the image of football. Women watch football too, and while I agree with one of the posters that we live in the 21st century, women like to look good, and they like to look good for men. I’m speaking of course as a male who is normal and while my brain is in the 21st century my testicles are in the dark ages. This doesn’t mean I don’t respect, admire or love women I do, it just means that at the same time there is a a war going on within me to keep control of my passions. Especially in light of being in the 21st century where women ask you if you would like to go to bed. Lets be fair here.
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oh. my. god. worst. jetsblog post. ever.
are you freaking serious, bassett? wow. this post stinks like that dbag cimini.
wake me up when it’s monday. i’m tired of the nonsense from the media who need something anti jets to harp on.
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If farve really did this ,he did it on his own .the jets were all not in his hotel room cheering him on .as for sainz as a latino myself, in our counties we never would of gone as far with this as you or the media .the people would of said why did she go into a naked man locker room ,if it would of been a soccer ball team ,it would of been worse.football is a man sport if women want to be around it they should adjust. or go work for cnn or msnbc were they are trying to go anyway.during all my life when ever a hottie walked in front of men ,their is always some type of looking good or whatever either silent within or out.I bet you the way she was dressed, if she walk in any place ,she will get some eyeball attention.with those tight jeans is really saying come f me.
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one thing I have notice were are all these women sportscasters coming from pretty soon us men are going to be .I guess the other networks are not hiring.I remember my wife being mad at me for watching football all day .my last wife .my new one is ok with it.I guess women are starting to like sports more than the mall on sunday.
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Did you cover this story when it first broke in this space?
The minute I heard of it I made reference to it in the comments but do not remember any replies.
I do not have the time to read each and every blog post and comments, so curious if you saw fit to address this is contemporaneosly.
As for this type of behavior, I suspect it goes on in every market in every sport. The Jets have become high profile and with that comes increased scrutiny, and for some reason the organization did not seem prepared for that scrutiny.
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Jenn dresses like a slut, but when she is treated like a slut it causes a problem?
I know it’s not right, but if she was ugly she wouldn’t have been anywhere near this situation. Same goes with Inez.
I don’t think anything has changed, just more BS deadspin this day and age.
solution: nobody but players and coaches in the locker room.
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What does a “slut” look like? Who is a slut? Are men sluts? Or are we talking women? And why? What is the male equivalent of slut?
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Woody Johnson has done a lot to try to make the Jets a model, first class organization. Bassett is right. This is simply an issue that needs to be addressed. If you look at Woody’s response to the Sainz incident, it seems that he has started to get that message. All of the woman involved in these incidents is either a Jet employee or someone invited and encouraged by the Jets to come to a Jet game or practice (reporter or fan). How they each get treated reflects on the entire Jets organization whether they like it or not. Woody is a businessman who understands the value of a brand. I’m sure he doesn’t like seeing these stories come up over and over again. He knows it’s wrong and it’s not the Jets that he wants to be associated with. I expect this is an issue he will take very seriously going forward.
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Thank you. This is one of the most intelligent pieces of sports opinion I have ever read. For some reason, sports commentary is rarely, if ever, forward-thinking and socially-responsible. For whatever reasons, it’s okay to be sexist, racist, homphobic, etc. if you are an elite white athletele.
This essay brings up the critical issue of systemic sexual harassment in American male-dominated sports where the patriarchy is alive and well.
No one ever stops to think about what female interns are ordered to where around the office. Yet people are so quick to say a woman’s clothing “choice” is “responsible” for straight men’s irresistible sexual “urges.”
I wouldn’t doubt that this type of behavior (sexual harassment) is rampant in the NFL, MLB, and NBA.
Thank you, Jets blogger, for contributing to the social good with your responsible commentary. I am inspired by your courage to ask important questions and seek change in repressive male cultures.
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Basset, I’m a huge fan of your site, but I really can’t get behind you on this one. Is Braylon Edwards’ recent drunk driving trouble evidence that the Jets have a problem with their liquor? No. It’s evidnece that Braylon and his passengers f’ed up once. If he does it again, it’s evidence that he’s just a f-up and will eventually be more trouble than he’s worth.
The Favre thing is the same way. It’s not a Jets problem (and it’s probably not a Vikings problem unless they know about it and are covering it up), it’s a Favre problem.
The Sainz thing was sleazy, but I don’t see how the Jets can possibly be held accountable for the conduct of fans in a stadium they don’t own and that of a wizened old greyd— who’s no longer with the team. All you’ve accomplished here is given Florio to crow about all weekend. Congratulations.