An NFL star has demanded changes to the way access is granted to the media following the appearance of a number of naked players during a post-game interview.
American professional sports teams have traditionally thrown open the doors to their locker rooms after games, but that policy has come under the microscope after what can only be described as a major balls-up by the NFL Network following the Cincinnati Bengals’ victory over Buffalo on Sunday.
Bengals offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth was one of several players caught on camera in the background during a live interview with team-mate Adam Jones, and the ten-year veteran wants an end to the traditional opening of locker rooms to the media.
“This is a big issue for me,” Whitworth told ESPN.
“This is my office space. I shouldn’t have to change in it and be in front of people I don’t know or really don’t have any purpose of being near me other than the fact they are interviewing other people.
“It’s not like it bothers me personally. [But] you can’t judge us off who we will and won’t accept into our locker room and then say all these things we have to do, but then also put us in a situation where every single day I have to change clothes and be naked or not in front of media.
“It’s just not right. There’s no office. There’s no other situation in America where you have to do that. It’s dated, it’s old, and it needs to change.”
For their part, the NFL Network, owned and operated by the league, quickly apologised for the incident, labelling it “a regrettable mistake by our production team”.
A spokesman added: “We have procedures in place, but unfortunately those rules were not followed in this instance.
“There will certainly be a brushing up of the protocol to make sure everyone’s 100 percent clear of what it is and how it operates and to make sure we don’t drop it again on something like this.”
