Ines Sainz Controversy Shouldn't Be One

The dumb controversy over Mexican reporter Ines Sainz being subjected to the "juvenile conduct" of some New York Jets should have ended when the team owner apologized, writes veteran sports columnist Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post. It didn't, and Sainz—who deserves part of the blame for keeping it alive—"seems to have received ruder treatment from Rush Limbaugh and Keith Olbermann" as a result. Of Olbermann's statement that Sainz's attire undermines women in her profession, Jenkins writes: "If I had to put a word to that assertion, I'd call it sexist."

The story, unfortunately, also has revived the tired debate about whether women belong in the locker room. "What all the outsiders ignore whenever the locker room controversy awakens, as it does every 10 years or so, is that male athletes and female reporters have thousands upon thousands of amiable professional dealings each week, without incident," writes Jenkins. "They talk; they interview. They argue; they swap jokes, and trade insights. It's uncomfortable at times, sure. But it's not that big a deal. All it takes is a little courtesy, a little humor, and some terry cloth." For more than you ever wanted on sexism, click here.
(More Ines Sainz stories.)