Torrey Smith (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
The NFLPA issued a statement Friday urging the NFL to make “immediate changes” to its “outdated” locker room media policy regarding reporters, and Torrey Smith had a lot to state about it.
“Over the past three years, the NFLPA has tried to work with the NFL and the Pro Football Writers of America [PFWA] to move media interviews out of locker rooms. However, there has been little willingness to collaborate on a new solution,” the NFLPA Executive Committee stated.
NFL players want to restrict reporters from conducting locker room interviews, with one former player calling male reporters “straight meat watchers.”
Torrey Smith laid out in graphic terms why this policy change to locker rooms needs to happen.
“If only y’all knew how awkward some of the male reporters act,” former Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith said on X. “Straight meat watchers.”
If only y’all knew how awkward some of the male reporters act.
Straight meat watchers https://t.co/zXXY45BwIM
— Torrey Smith (@TorreySmithWR) October 4, 2024
Reporters regularly mingle with players in the locker room on game day and on practice days.
“Players feel that locker room interviews invade their privacy and are uncomfortable. This isn’t about limiting media access but about respecting players’ privacy and dignity,” the NFLPA said in a statement.
“We, the NFLPA Executive Committee, urge the NFL to make immediate changes to foster a more respectful and safer workplace for all players.”
NFLPA player representative Ted Karras, a center for the Cincinnati Bengals, told reporters last week that players’ discomfort with locker room interviews has been a longstanding issue.
He added, after “a couple guys (were) naked on camera this year.”
Karras said the hope was that each team could devise a plan to conduct interviews outside the locker room on practice days during the week to “get cameras off guys in private moments.”
Having Locker Room Privacy For Athletes Was A Long Time Coming To Ensure Space Away From Reporters
The NFL Players Association called for curbs on locker room interviews on Friday, saying that they were an invasion of players’ privacy and urging members to seek interviews outside the locker room during the week.
It has never looked good to see a bunch of cameras invading the space of players who are trying to undress, take a shower, and decompress after a hard-fought game.
Players on some NFL teams are “exercising their right under the league’s media policy to be interviewed by reporters outside rather than inside locker rooms during the practice week,” according to Mark Maske of the Washington Post.
There is truly no need for cameras to be roaming around while guys are trying to handle their business.
Travis Kelce Used One Word To Describe His Whirlwind Relationship With Taylor Swift
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – FEBRUARY 11: Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs and Taylor Swift embrace after defeating the San Francisco 49ers in overtime during Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium on February 11, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Travis Kelce is proud to have girlfriend Taylor Swift by his side, and he doesn’t mind that the whole world is watching.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have been dating since at least September 2023 when she shocked everybody by showing up to Arrowhead Stadium. The move came months after Kelce first publicly expressed interest in Swift, after attending one of her concerts and failing to send a friendship bracelet to her with his number on it.
Travis Kelce knows just how obsessed the world is with his relationship.
“I’m very aware,” Kelce said when asked whether he understands the “impact” his romance with Taylor Swift was having on the NFL.
“Obviously, this is mostly because Taylor’s in my life now and we got her [to be] part of Chiefs Kingdom,” he explained in a resurfaced interview with sports reporter Laura Okmin ahead of the Super Bowl.
“And sure enough, that brought an entire entourage of human beings who just love to support her and love to support everything that she’s about.”
He used an incredible word to describe their relationship.
“With that being said, I do, you know, have a guarded approach to it,” he explained before Super Bowl 58. “But at the same time, I know what me and Taylor have is special, so I get [the interest].”
Taylor Swift was spotted at 13 of Travis Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs football games this past season, first popping up in a box at Arrowhead Stadium in Missouri on Sept. 24, 2023. The team won 10 of the 13 games at which she’s been in attendance.
That also included the team winning playoff games over the Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, and then the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl.
Kelce finished the Super Bowl with nine receptions for 93 yards, including a crucial catch in overtime.
The 34-year-old slowed down slightly in 2023, finishing with 93 catches for 984 yards and five touchdowns. It should be noted he did miss two games, Week 1 due to injury and Week 17 as he chose to sit out with the Chiefs not playing for anything.
