Arkansas Bengal Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 Bengals' Andrew Whitworth presses for change after nude players shown Coley Harvey, ESPN Staff Writer CINCINNATI -- An NFL Network official expressed regret Monday afternoon for what he called a production mistake that led to several naked Cincinnati Bengals players being seen in the background of an interview on the network following Sunday's game at Buffalo. Just minutes after the 6-0 Bengals' 34-21 win, NFL Network reporter Albert Breer was interviewing cornerback Adam Jones when a few of Jones' teammates were caught on camera changing behind him or walking toward the showers. The interview lasted for about a minute, and completely undressed players were seen in the background throughout. Although the interview appeared in a live postgame show, the segment was taped. When the network moved from the interview to a full-screen graphic outlining quarterback Andy Dalton's strong play this season, the show's anchors were clearly aghast. "What an interview," one said. "That was interesting," another added. NFL Network vice president of communications Alex Riethmiller said Monday that "it was a regrettable mistake by our production team." "We've already done a pretty thorough review of the procedures and processes that were dropped along the way to make sure it doesn't happen again," Riethmiller told Bengals media on a conference call."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," Bengals player rep Andrew Whitworth said Monday. Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports Riethmiller added that implied in the statement was an apology "to everybody that was affected: to the players, to the organization, to the viewing public, first and foremost." The apology did little to calm concerns Bengals offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth raised in a series of Monday morning tweets and during his interview with reporters later in the day in a mostly empty Bengals locker room in Cincinnati. "This is a big issue for me," said Whitworth, the Bengals' union player rep. NFL Players Association president Eric Winston also plays for the Bengals but wasn't present in Cincinnati's locker room during open media access Monday. "I've pressed this issue before with our union and the fact I think it's wrong," Whitworth said of media being present in locker rooms postgame. "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. "If I was a woman, this would be a completely different subject, and it would be a complete firestorm. We can't always just serve women and everyone else. Men deserve a right too. We have rights. We have privacy. We deserve all the things we want, as well. As a man, I think it's right the policy is changed." Like the NFL, the WNBA has a policy of allowing its postgame locker rooms to open after a 10-minute cooling-off period. "It's not like it bothers me personally," Whitworth said. "[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." Whitworth suggested players pre-requested by media could be brought to other areas of the stadium, where they could be placed in front of cameras in a more presentable fashion. Many college football programs operate this way -- bringing select, fully dressed players to various areas designated for postgame interviews. The 10-year Bengals veteran said he spent all morning thinking of the ridicule that would have gone on with his kids at school, had they been of a certain age. Whitworth didn't feel that was fair to them. "We have procedures in place, but unfortunately those rules were not followed in this instance," Riethmiller said. "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." http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/13927107/nfl-network-cites-production-mistake-nudity-cincinnati-bengals-locker-room-interview Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|RayDoggBengal| Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 Gotta agree with most of what he said. If this was a women's locker room the FCC would be investigating and fining the NFL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enon Bengal Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 Gotta agree with most of what he said. If this was a women's locker room the FCC would be investigating and fining the NFL. Sounds like a great idea for pay per view? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleEarl Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 I have never understood why reporters have to be in the locker rooms immediately after games. Players should have some time to clean up and get themselves together before being bombarded with questions. The only reason I can imagine is that the media is looking for a story and if they get a guy quick enough while he is still emotional he'll say or do something stupid. See Richard Sherman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkansas Bengal Posted October 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostInDaJungle Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 Big deal. You could see his tight end, but it's not like they showed his Eifert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 Even naked in the locker room, Whit didn't give up a sack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hooky Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 Even naked in the locker room, Whit didn't give up a sack. That's bad. But good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengals1181 Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 Even naked in the locker room, Whit didn't give up a sack. you totally stole that from twitter, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|schotzee| Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 you totally stole that from twitter, lol. That dawg. I'm taking back my rep. Jk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|westside bengal| Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 I never saw it but unless a player will eternally have "Little" or "Tiny" as a name prefix I am not sure the players truly care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkansas Bengal Posted October 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 Bengals tackle Andrew Whitworth upset after his nude scene Posted by Darin Gantt on October 20, 2015, 6:15 AM EDT APEven Playboy Magazine is going without nudity now, so Bengals tackle Andrew Whitworth is hoping the NFL Network can follow Hugh Hefner’s daring lead. Whitworth was one of the players who could be seen naked during the league’s own network’s post-game interview with Adam Jones, and he wasn’t happy about it. But it wasn’t just for the sake of propriety, as Whitworth wants to change the league’s longstanding media policies. “Being a guy that has been a player rep and a guy that’s always been against this policy, it’s a great example of why the open [locker] room policy is old and needs to change,” Whitworth said, via Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “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.” Locker rooms are closed for a 10-minute cooling off period after games before reporters are allowed in, and the league dictates that media be allowed in for 45 minutes a day on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The rules are not unique to the NFL. “This is my office space,” Whitworth said. “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 for being near me other than the fact they are interviewing other people. If I was a woman, this would be a completely different subject, and it would be a complete firestorm. We can’t always just serve women and everyone else. Men deserve a right, too. We have rights. We have privacy. We deserve all the things we want as well. As a man, I think it’s right the policy is changed.” Whitworth also has a right to a towel, an item which remains readily available in every NFL locker room for the wet and the shy. He said his primary concern was the teasing his 16-year-old daughter had to take at school the next day (it was easier to tease Bengals’ kids in the old days simply for their dads being Bengals). The league has apologized for the mistake, but spokesman Greg Aiello said there’s been no discussion of changing the rules for years. But the league clearly dropped the ball twice, once with the camera guy who failed to keep a tight enough shot on his subject to preclude accidental nudity in the background, and again when a producer let it stay on the air. While Whitworth’s propriety is noble, at a time when access is slowly but steadily moving in the wrong direction, closing locker rooms to reporters would be a step too far. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/10/20/bengals-tackle-andrew-whitworth-upset-after-his-nude-scene/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scharm Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 There's got to be some room for a deflated ball joke somewhere in this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 There's got to be some room for a deflated ball joke somewhere in this thread. Wrong team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 you totally stole that from twitter, lol. Yup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeb Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 I'm in favor of banning cameras but not reporters for post game interviews, ...you get the truest quotes just after the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky151 Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 Reporters shouldn't be in the locker rooms to begin with. Players shouldn't be required to do interviews either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeb Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 You get real quotes (not that "canned responses") when you interview someone without a camera. The moment a camera comes out, ...you get the deer in the headlights canned response from the player.That's why Lap constantly runs around looking for guys without cameras in front of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scharm Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 he must work out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|High School Harry| Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 How em bare assing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|schotzee| Posted October 21, 2015 Report Share Posted October 21, 2015 I'm sure something will change. A lot of talk about it apparently. Marcel Darius sounded off about it on the herd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_B Posted October 21, 2015 Report Share Posted October 21, 2015 Even naked in the locker room, Whit didn't give up a sack. Awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleEarl Posted October 21, 2015 Report Share Posted October 21, 2015 This is something the players could negotiate in the collective bargaining agreement if they felt it was important. They wont. The NFLPA is weak as tea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scharm Posted October 22, 2015 Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 I would exchange less power for Goodell and less nude interviews for more practice time with pads and stronger performance enhancing drug testing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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