Uniforms

I remember when I was in high school running track for Eleanor Roosevelt, I came home with my uniform. My mom was cool with the Adidas warm-up suit we purchased with our names stitched in the jackets and all... she was cool with the jersey (basically a loose fitting racing tank top), but wasn't real cool with the bottom of the racing uniforms: briefs. The first thing she complained about was being afraid of the briefs riding up while I'm running. I have to admit, initially I was kind of concerned about it as well. I had played basketball, softball, soccer, field hockey, and every single time we had regular ol' shorts. Alas, it was an assigned uniform. I didn't have any say about what I could wear. I just had to wear it. I even remember a couple early outdoor meets it was around 40 degrees outside and the officials telling us we couldn't race in our sweats or tights over the briefs. Sometimes you could even disqualify you entire relay if your uniform does not match your team. So, you have to wear the uniform. Come to find out, the briefs actually worked out better than the racing shorts because they stayed in place and allowed a more unrestricted range of motion while running.

My first engineering job out of college, I worked with a firm that required us to conduct surveys in slacks and a company t-shirt. It made me kind of upset for a while because I ruined so many pairs of good pants running around in the field getting dusty, dirty, wet, etc. The company didn't even reimburse us for having to buy new pants. I ended up having to write them off on my taxes. I didn't mind the company polo shirts and button ups though, they're actually pretty nifty. And if you're in a hurry to get to work, it's a real easy decision maker when you're searching for something to wear.

When I went to high school, it was the first time I went to a school where I was allowed to choose what I wanted to wear. My elementary school and middle school we were required to wear uniforms. My mom didn't like the absence of uniforms. She felt like having them eliminates beef between people and unnecessary attention. In a way, she's correct. What I learned was that you can also avoid conflict and unnecessary attention by just choosing to wear something that will not draw negative attention to yourself.

There are many female reporters in the sports world... a field that used to be predominantly men. Nothing wrong with women being reporters, but when you cover sports, you should be mindful of what kind of attention you may draw with your wardrobe selection. I'm sure the most basic rule will say that you should "dress professionally," but maybe there should be a "Press Wardrobe For Dummies" book that explains what this means in detail with cartoon caricatures and all. Maybe it should say something about the sexual attention you can draw to yourself by choosing to wear hot pants and a see thru tank top opposed to business attire or even normal fitting jeans and a company polo (just sayin). Since there's no "press uniform," instead just mere suggestions, someone should step up and say something. This isn't Catholic school or a track meet: no one is instructing you to wear what they say "or else." If you choose to dress suggestively, particularly at a game/practice and around 53 testosterone heavy packages in an NFL locker room (or other similar situation), please don't think that someone isn't checking you out while you're trying to "do your job."  When you choose your get-up, you also accept responsibility for all the stuff that comes with it.

And please, for the sake of sanity and the free gift of common sense, don't complain when they whistle or throw things at you. You know exactly what you're doing and you asked for it.  And don't even get me started on visiting a locker room while dressed that way. Let the athletes shower in peace. That is all.

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