NFL Releases Memo to All 32 Teams Regarding Sainz/Jets Incident
SANCHEZ: Max Kellerman is standing by. He's got a lot to discuss with us during this next segment that we're going to do. And we've also got some wonderful, nice people who are visiting with us. You can wave. You can say hi to Max. He's going to be coming up in just a little bit. So I'm much thankful that you guys are here. On the subject of some of the participation that we have from people out there, you know that I like -- maybe as much as anybody else -- like to dedicate our show to you, because I follow you, I listen to your tweets, I communicate with you. This is an experience that's not just one way. It's two-way, if not circular. So, with that said, I want to thank you for helping me here on RICK'S LIST. So every day, I want to give you one of the new books that I have written called "Conventional Idiocy." And the winner today, as chosen by my staff, is the huhblog. That's right. According to the huhblog, "The List U Don't Want 2 Be On" today should be people who didn't get a book. We thought that was funny, so we're going to go ahead and give him a book for thinking that up. Not bad. Our follow-up list now. It's TV Azteca reporter Ines Sainz. This is a photo that she posted of herself on the Jets' sideline. NFL released a memo to al PR directors on Tuesday. Let me read you what they are saying, as a matter of fact. You got this over my shoulder here, Craig? "By law, women must be granted the same rights to perform their jobs as men. Please remember that women reporters are professionals and should be treated as such. When female reporters are in your locker room, they are there in a professional capacity." Max Kellerman, what do you make of this? I mean, here's the NFL. I mean, this thing won't die down, but here is the NFL now having to come out and remind these multimillion-dollar organizations that they are supposed to treat women the same way they treat men, professionally. I don't know. What's your take?</s>MAX KELLERMAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: And those arguments are all pretty obvious. You know, they're there in a professional capacity. In her case, however, based on the way she's promoted herself, what she was wearing in the locker room, the way her own -- the Web site of her TV station promotes her, professional -- women are there and they're professional. Well, some are more professional than others, and some are there in different kinds of professional capacities. She clearly seems to be there as more of a kind of entertainment component to the coverage of professional football. And that's an X's and O's kind of coverage.</s>SANCHEZ: Is that fair though? I mean, what if is a guy, a good- looking guy shows up to cover a story, and he's wearing --</s>KELLERMAN: In a Speedo?</s>SANCHEZ: Well, no, but he's wearing shorts, he's wearing something that -- you know, women find men attractive just like men find women attractive.</s>KELLERMAN: If there was a male reporter --</s>SANCHEZ: Just because you find them attractive doesn't give you the right to go over there and start whistling at them or throwing footballs in their direction, does it?</s>KELLERMAN: I don't think the football-throwing thing was a big deal. We have seen that in the Corona commercial recently. You know, you throw the football near the attractive woman so you can have something to say to her when you go pick it up. A whistle or something like that, if you're dressed as she is, if you promote yourself as the sexiest reporter in Mexico, if you wear what she did to the locker room, a whistler, too, I don't think is a big deal. If a male reporter dressed in some approximate way and went into a women's locker room, and he got a few whistles of a few people saying something -- but if they were saying vile, disgusting things, they should be disciplined, I think. And I think the memo that the NFL sent out, you know, duh, of course. But it's not as though any woman by virtue of the fact that she happens to be a woman in the locker room is at the highest level of her profession. And some women, just as some men, comport themselves differently than others.</s>SANCHEZ: Well, and in this case, it was mostly the other women who were in the room who were appalled by the behavior, and they were the ones who filed the complaint. And that is what started this whole thing. So you make a good point.</s>KELLERMAN: Not to excuse any behavior, not to excuse any sexist or bad behavior if they were truly over the line. I'm just not sure, based on what I have heard, that they were over the line.</s>SANCHEZ: We have had so much breaking news that we're going to have to table once again this measure. You know, Ash (ph), our producer, has been wanting us -- and I know you want to talk about what's going on with concussions in the NFL. We'll get you back and we'll have that discussion in a little bit. I thought this discussion about what's going on with the New York Jets is probably more salient given it's what everybody has been talking about this week. Max, you're there in New York, you know what happens. My thanks to you for joining us once again, and we'll look forward to having this discussion again.</s>KELLERMAN: Thanks, Rick.</s>SANCHEZ: Wolf Blitzer has all the politics making news on this list. He's coming up next. This is RICK'S LIST, your national conversation. Stay with us.