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With NBA players like LeBron James wanting the locker room to be off-limits, Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George echoed a similar sentiment on Podcast P. He shared a freaky incident after a game in Washington.
“There was a reporter in Washington who would look at dudes, and stare at dudes' meat while they were in the showers or while they were changing. You’ve got to understand bro, the game might be over and 10 minutes after that all the reporters are coming in right? Immediately after the game, you’re not showering right away.
“You might take a second to kind of process what just happened, get your thoughts together, relax a little bit, have a shake or a smoothie. You’re going to chill, check your phone. So I’d say the majority of the locker room we’re naked. We’re wearing towels, we’re naked, we just got out of the shower, and then you have these reporters in there and they’re not staring at a wall, you know what I mean. They’re looking at us.”
Have other locker room incidents happened to Paul George or the 76ers?
There hasn't been anything specific with the 76ers media or their locker room. It's been like most locker rooms around the league. That doesn't mean nothing takes place. The locker room access debate has been in place for a good while now. Once COVID-19 struck, the league limited locker rooms to players and team personnel.
The debate started with the NFLPA who is asking for a change in the policy to not allow reporters in locker rooms for interviews. That’s when Paul George agreed with former NFL player, Torrey Smith, who said that he caught reporters looking at him while he was changing in the past. Another incident occurred with 49ers Kyle Juszczyk, who called a 49ers reporter out by name for being awkward in the locker room with players.
However, one league already took action: the WNBA. In 2023, they banned all media from entering the locker room following a game. While there was controversy, media departments still found a way for reporters to get the access they needed. For example, teams will allow media to speak with players outside of the locker room. It may not be ideal for some, but it's at least something.
In the case of the NFL or NBA, these players are in a vulnerable position. They could be physically getting changed, decompressing from a competitive game, or just wanting to chill out. Even though there's a 10-minute cooldown period, many players feel that's not enough time. It might be a matter of time before locker room policies for media could change.
