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Inez Sainz, a reporter for TV Azteca in Mexico, said she was "uncomfortable" about the way she was treated at a recent Jets practice, where she was seeking to interview franchise quarterback Mark Sanchez. Instead of an interview with Sanchez, Sainz said she was subjected to lascivious-- my word, not hers -- behavior by the Jets' players and coaches.According to reports, Jets secondary coach Dennis Thurman launched passes in Sainz's direction so that the players could get close to her. And once Sainz was in the locker room, the players allegedly ogled her, and some used inappropriate language.
The experience prompted Sainz to tweet that she was "dying of embarrassment." On NBC's "Today" show on Tuesday, though, she downplayed some of her initial reaction.
"I must say that I don't hear anything that is in a sexual way," Sainz told "Today" host Meredith Vieira. "I'm not the one who say the charge or try to involve all of the team in this situation."
The NFL has launched an investigation, and Jets owner Woody Johnson personally called Sainz to apologize.
I'm having a hard time feeling sympathetic for someone who at times carries herself in a manner that insults some women in this business. Clearly this is a very horny and sexual woman. She's no prude.
At the Super Bowl XLIII media day, for example, Sainz went around touching players' biceps as part of what she called a "strongest arm" competition.
At last season's Super Bowl between the Colts and Saints, Sainz allowed herself to be carried on the shoulders of a couple of Indianapolis players.
Then there's the matter of the attire she's worn on the job around professional football. A quick Google search turns up numerous images of Sainz standing on a football field in clothing that seems better suited for a nightclub.
"It's my style," Sainz told George Stephanopoulos on ABC's "Good Morning America." "It is my style for all my life."
In no way am I saying Sainz deserved to be disrespected because of what she wore or that she doesn't bring a hard-hitting, Barbara Walters-type approach to her job.
It isn't fair, but female sports journalists have to adhere to unspoken rules that our male counterparts never have to consider. Otherwise, the door is left open for comments such as the ones Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis made when he was asked on a D.C. radio show about Sainz's situation.
"You know, somebody got to spark her interest, or she's going to want somebody. I don't know what kind of woman won't, if you get to go and look at 53 men's [bodies]," Portis said. "I know you're doing a job, but at the same time, the same way I'm going to cut my eye if I see somebody worth talking to, I'm sure they do the same thing."