Rudy Gobert’s locker-room exposure shows why reporters shouldn’t be there at all

The Minnesota Timberwolves played the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night and won 128-126. Superstar Anthony Edwards was interviewed in the locker room after the close contest and was answering a routine question about the NBA All-Star Game when the camera panned to veteran Wolves Joe Ingles and Rudy Gobert.

The video was supposed to capture Ingles making an off-the-cuff retort to the question, but everyone noticed Gobert’s bare buns in the shot instead.

The video originally went viral on theScore’s X account, but the publication took the post down after so many people noticed it was inappropriate.

The leak of the video logically leads to asking why reporters are still allowed into the locker room to take photos, shoot video and interview athletes when there are folks getting dressed.

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Some reporters online called out the situation for what it is: an outdated and unethical tradition in sports locker rooms.

Athletes being exposed while naked is even more of a problem these days because every reporter has a camera on their phone. At least decades ago, there weren’t as many videos being taken in the locker room, but the increase in technology makes it an even bigger potential for privacy issues.

It’s also a reminder about how often this controversy reappears.

Former Cincinnati Bengals player Andrew Whitworth even pressed charges after many of his teammates were shown naked in the Bengals locker room in 2015.

Former Philadelphia Eagles player Chris Long talked candidly about this topic in 2022 on the podcast “Two Writers Slinging Yang”.

“Why the f**k can y’all walk in, and we are half-naked?” Long asked. “In no other workplace in America are you expected to be putting your clothes on, and somebody’s going to talk to you. And there’s going to be cameras. Not just people while I’m pulling my pants up.

“Or like Brandon Graham’s locker is next to mine, and he has 40 reporters around him, and someone is bumping into my naked a**. I’m at work! I feel like because we get paid so much money, and we’re such macho dudes that everybody is like, ‘f**k ’em.'”

Long’s rant on the topic stands as incredibly accurate four years later, and it’s unfortunate that athletes are still being subjected to this.

It opens up the conversation about how media and fans think they should have unlimited access to the lives of famous people, particularly in sports. Our favorite athletes are great at what they do, and giving insight about their job is part of the territory, but being so vulnerable isn’t right.

It’s time to wait to interview athletes until after they’re out of the locker room and in the press conference room.

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