NFLPA Advocates for Revised Locker Room Media Access Policy

This past week witnessed a significant development in the National Football League as the league’s players association, the NFLPA, embarked on a coordinated effort to establish a preferred standard for media access to locker rooms. This initiative arises amidst longstanding concerns related to discomfort and vulnerability experienced by athletes due to the presence of journalists, further highlighted by a recent incident involving the unintended exposure of a player in video footage from a locker room.

In a statement released on Friday, the NFLPA described the current NFL media policy as “outdated,” calling for immediate reforms to foster a more respectful and safer work environment for players. The association recommended that players participate in interviews outside locker rooms on non-game days. “We… urge the NFL to make immediate changes,” the statement read, “In the meantime, we encourage each player to ask for interviews outside the locker room during the week.”

This proposal aligns with existing provisions of the NFL’s media policy, which allows players the option to conduct interviews away from the locker room upon request. Historically, however, such a practice has been infrequent and remains unenforced after regular-season games.

An offensive lineman and a representative of the NFLPA elaborated on this policy, assuring reporters on Thursday that the move does not exclude media from locker rooms altogether. “This doesn’t bar you from the locker room,” the player explained. “What we want to do is get cameras off guys in private moments in our locker room. This is what our membership wants, to feel more comfortable in a private space… We want to make this as smooth as possible. This is not an indictment against you.”

The team has been notably proactive in adopting these changes. Veteran running back Austin Ekeler disclosed that players would engage with the media outside the locker room after practice, an adjustment reportedly set to include a small backdrop by a nearby stairwell to facilitate media interactions, as reported by The Washington Post. Ekeler anticipated that approximately ten teams might participate in this initiative at its current phase.

In a related reaction, San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk utilized this announcement to express concerns over locker room access, specifically regarding behavior deemed inappropriate by divisive beat reporter Grant Cohn, affiliated with 49ers on Sports Illustrated. “Maybe we can keep Grant from always hanging around our lockers while we’re changing,” Juszczyk commented on social media platform X, in response to the NFLPA’s proclamation.