Well, the problem with Andrews, though, is that I suspect that being more vocal in opposition to attempts to sexualize her might affect her "likability," which plays a bigger role in sideline reporting than you think. An extreme case like this one allows her to be angry without alienating boorish male fans, but to those same fans, playfully laughing at "milder" sexual harassment helps to brand her as "easygoing" and less threatening to machismo. One wonders whether being viewed as "no nonsense" would hinder her ability to get athletes to open up to her.

As a fan who is less familiar with Erin Andrews, I have no idea whether her attractiveness is disarming, and allows athletes and coaches to be open and honest more readily than they would a broadcaster that they took more seriously. But I'd love to hear the perspectives of others.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 2:24pm EDT

Check this out:

http://backporch.fanhouse.com/2009/07/22/everyone-deserves-blame-for-erin-andrews-video-fiasco/

Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 5:08pm EDT

I do think she kind of calls it upon herself. She makes herself seem sexy and plays into the role, but as you stated, if you're a woman, in sports and like your job, you kind of have to go along with it. I don't really like her, but it could be perhaps because I'm jealous of her job. At the same time, she shouldn't have let it just keep going to that point. Very interesting about the video. She should have stood up for herself, but that doesn't mean the video wouldn't have been shot.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 6:02pm EDT

Interesting post in the link above. I agree with the point the we all (=society) deserve blame for this incident...no one would make a video and put it on the internet if he/she didn't know everyone would flock to it like we shamelessly flock to every piece of celebrity controversy we hear about--from Britney Spears' wardrobe malfunctions to the Jon and Kate saga. Why are people like Heidi and Spencer so famous, even though they didn't do anything but provoke us with outrageous behavior? Because we can't get enough of it for some reason! We ask for them to come back again and again. So they get paid to go on a reality show and continue to act like imbeciles. And then they're on the next morning's talk shows.

NOW, please note that I'm not comparing Erin Andrews herself to Britney or Jon and Kate or Heidi and Spencer. BUT, the reason a nude video of her is such a big deal is because we first became obsessed with her looks and then slobbered like animals, wanting to push the limit more and more -- hey, that football player came up behind her and make a disgusting sexual gesture! Let's see what else can happen! Sure, the football player got in trouble, but everyone who enjoyed it on TV got off scot-free. Dignity needs to come back in style.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 6:02pm EDT

Even still, there's no comparison between the Sexual Harassment that she has likely been subjected to in covering sports, and the violation of her privacy that happened. I think there's a HUGE difference between some random pervert secretly taping her because of her sexualization, and someone releasing the video into the world, so that everyone could see it. That seems motivated by malice. Worse still were the news outlets that helpfully showed edited clips or still pictures, amplifying the violation.

To me, this issue of sex and sports is very complicated, because of the role that sex plays in society. I think I'd prefer a system where female sexuality was viewed as just as empowering as male sexuality, and where objectification/exploitation was driven into the periphery. But what happens now, this "wink, wink" expression of sexiness, only serves to further fetishize women in male-dominated fields as "forbidden fruit," which ironically, drives things to a place where there's a MARKET for this type of malicious violation of personal integrity.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 7:32pm EDT

It is very unfortunate that some think she "calls it upon herself." Sexual harassment of any kind is an unwelcome gesture, and no one -regardless of how much you don't like them- should be subject to it. Yes, she's supposed to be tough because she's in a profession where all eyes are on her- but that doesn't open up the playing field for a sexual-harassment free-for-all. We need to be careful at how we portray people in the media, especially women, and instead of objectifying them, allow them to have a voice. Right now, Erin probably doesn't feel like she has a voice, because if she stands up for herself, she's just a whiny girl that can't handle the male-dominated field she works in.

In my opinion, there are two violations of her privacy, both at the game and in the hotel. To demean this woman at a public venue (football game) and further catalyze the situation by distributing her (scabbed) naked video on the internet is disgusting and outrageous. We should never place the blame on her, she is entirely the victim here. By pushing the envelope and seeing just how far we can get 15minutes of fame in today's media continues to surprise me, and not in a good way.

Thursday, July 23, 2009 at 8:51am EDT