White Sox Clubhouse and Sex Dolls

[EvilMonkey]

Why would the perception of fans become that over something the team did? And that's besides the bigger point which is our fans have a lousy perception anyways, so too late.

Because if you are not foaming-at-the-mouth against it, you are for it. Supposedly.

[WCSox]

But these guys are too stupid to unerstand boundaries in an area that the public will see?

 

Not many pro athletes can be accused of being highly-intelligent and mature.

 

Our society bends over backwards to inflate the egos of these guys when they're young, showers them with praise, excuses juvenile and sometimes criminal behavior on their part, and then throws millions of dollars at them when they make the pros. And we're supposed to expect them to behave like mature, civilized adults? That shouldn't excuse their behavior, but the "OUTRAGE!" on the part of some doesn't make much sense to me.

 

Edited May 6, 2008 by WCSox

[Texsox]

When Thome missed an appearnce to promote the team because of a family obligation everyone fawned over him and shouted the atta boys. No one complained the press should not have reported it. The team was promoting that wholesome family man image. Now, it appears that some of you do not want the press to print anything negative, so are you demanding the press misleads the public?

[southsideirish71]

When Thome missed an appearnce to promote the team because of a family obligation everyone fawned over him and shouted the atta boys. No one complained the press should not have reported it. The team was promoting that wholesome family man image. Now, it appears that some of you do not want the press to print anything negative, so are you demanding the press misleads the public?

 

You know, when I think of a paper promoting the sox and their core values Immediately the Suntimes comes to mind. Jay, Greg and Carol print lots of articles fluffing the sox. It happens all the time. In fact I hear that Jay and JR have dinner all the time as well.

 

 

 

[Texsox]

You know, when I think of a paper promoting the sox and their core values Immediately the Suntimes comes to mind. Jay, Greg and Carol print lots of articles fluffing the sox. It happens all the time. In fact I hear that Jay and JR have dinner all the time as well.

 

So cut off access to the media. No interviews, stop advertising.

 

 

Why not promote the image of the franchise as perverted guys f***ing sex dolls with objects. what could be wrong with that? If there really is nothing wrong with it, why not build an advertising campaign around it. Perhaps the official sex doll of the Sox? Bring a doll and have it autographed by a sox player?

 

These are grown men, the face of an organization worth hundreds of millions of dollars. They are working for an organization that spends millions on advertising to promote an image. In a league that spends many more that to promote baseball as America's Sport. Fun for the whole family.

 

If y'all can't see where this stunt is just plain wrong, I can only say that most of the adults on the board realize it and I suspect as y'all spend a few more years on this planet, your opinions will change.

[Steve9347]

So cut off access to the media. No interviews, stop advertising.

 

 

Why not promote the image of the franchise as perverted guys f***ing sex dolls with objects. what could be wrong with that? If there really is nothing wrong with it, why not build an advertising campaign around it. Perhaps the official sex doll of the Sox? Bring a doll and have it autographed by a sox player?

 

These are grown men, the face of an organization worth hundreds of millions of dollars. They are working for an organization that spends millions on advertising to promote an image. In a league that spends many more that to promote baseball as America's Sport. Fun for the whole family.

 

If y'all can't see where this stunt is just plain wrong, I can only say that most of the adults on the board realize it and I suspect as y'all spend a few more years on this planet, your opinions will change.

As usual, excellent post.

[EvilMonkey]

So cut off access to the media. No interviews, stop advertising.

 

 

Why not promote the image of the franchise as perverted guys f***ing sex dolls with objects. what could be wrong with that? If there really is nothing wrong with it, why not build an advertising campaign around it. Perhaps the official sex doll of the Sox? Bring a doll and have it autographed by a sox player?

 

These are grown men, the face of an organization worth hundreds of millions of dollars. They are working for an organization that spends millions on advertising to promote an image. In a league that spends many more that to promote baseball as America's Sport. Fun for the whole family.

 

If y'all can't see where this stunt is just plain wrong, I can only say that most of the adults on the board realize it and I suspect as y'all spend a few more years on this planet, your opinions will change.

I don't think anyone here really said that the dolls were a good thing. You need to separate the dolls from the critisism of the reactions to the doll. I think the doll was poor taste and judgement. i think the reactions are way over the top and tasteless.

[shipps]

So cut off access to the media. No interviews, stop advertising.

 

 

Why not promote the image of the franchise as perverted guys f***ing sex dolls with objects. what could be wrong with that? If there really is nothing wrong with it, why not build an advertising campaign around it. Perhaps the official sex doll of the Sox? Bring a doll and have it autographed by a sox player?

 

These are grown men, the face of an organization worth hundreds of millions of dollars. They are working for an organization that spends millions on advertising to promote an image. In a league that spends many more that to promote baseball as America's Sport. Fun for the whole family.

 

If y'all can't see where this stunt is just plain wrong, I can only say that most of the adults on the board realize it and I suspect as y'all spend a few more years on this planet, your opinions will change.

Your correct,but that is looking at it from an organizational stand point and most of the arguments in this thread are about right or wrong as a social issue.those two should probably go hand in hand but they dont.

 

[knightni]

Why not promote the image of the franchise as perverted guys f***ing sex dolls with objects. what could be wrong with that? If there really is nothing wrong with it, why not build an advertising campaign around it. Perhaps the official sex doll of the Sox? Bring a doll and have it autographed by a sox player?

 

Yes, but the real question is:

 

Can the sex doll sing, "Don't Stop Believin'"?

 

[Dick Allen]

Yes, this is a locker room, it is also the area that the EMPLOYER has opened up and wants visitors to come in and report on what they see. The EMPLOYER hopes to parlay that publicity into more profits for them. They use those profits to pay the employees millions of dollars. The image the team portrays, whether accurate or not, also increases or decreases the profits for the team. Players understand this and some perform better in that role (Thome, Payton) then others (Bonds, Thomas)

 

Perhaps this publicity will increase the fan base with people who think blow up dolls are great entertainment. That will really improve the image of Sox fans everywhere.

It is a MLB policy to open the locker room to the press, and its only for a certain amount of time. If JR and every White Sox player and employee had their choice, a member of the press would never be in the clubhouse.

[WCSox]

These are grown men, the face of an organization worth hundreds of millions of dollars. They are working for an organization that spends millions on advertising to promote an image. In a league that spends many more that to promote baseball as America's Sport. Fun for the whole family.

 

If y'all can't see where this stunt is just plain wrong, I can only say that most of the adults on the board realize it and I suspect as y'all spend a few more years on this planet, your opinions will change.

 

I've spent a reasonable number of years on this planet and agree with you to a certain extent. However, I know what baseball's culture is like and don't expect it to change any time soon. I'm also employing a sense of perspective and saving my "OUTRAGE!" for some of the bigger problems with baseball's culture, such as rampant steroid/HGH use, amphetamine use, alcoholism, and rampant marital infidelity. I'd much rather be a fan of a player with a juvenile, frat-house sense of humor than a 'roided up jerk with several illegitimate kids.

 

[Texsox]

It's about the symbolism and a characterization. While it may seem this is a private locker room, it is not. And they know that. Imagine if Thome put this up in his living room. It is an absurd thought. But as YASNY stated about an hour and 100 posts ago, they put it up in all of our living rooms. And whether it should, or should not, have been reported, everyone there knew it could and probably would. Again no surprise.

 

At best, it was a stupid gesture by (probably) a newer player without the experience to know what a s*** storm could ignite. At worse it acted out some horrible deep seated hatred of women. And to make points, we all pushed the envelope to make our points.

 

Was some of the reactions out of scale? Yes. And to both extremes.

 

Most older Sox fans will be embarrassed. Not because we're some PC crazed, no sense of humor, morons. But because we understand the social conventions of society. How we are not in a vacuum, but reactions spread. This could reverberate like Disco Demolition or the cheap beer promo against Detroit. Just one more embarrassing black eye for the franchise. And for those of us with a few decades invested in this team, we know how these things cling for far too long.

[Texsox]

It is a MLB policy to open the locker room to the press, and its only for a certain amount of time. If JR and every White Sox player and employee had their choice, a member of the press would never be in the clubhouse.

I agree. For most players the press is an unwelcome part of the job. But it is a big part of the job. And almost every job has it's not so much fun part. But to cash those checks they know it comes with the territory. And if you do it very well, they reap some big benefits.

 

By most accounts Michael Jordan was no choir boy. But he carefully guarded his image. He was engaging with the press, always acted like a pro in and around the court. And years after his retirement he still does more commercials than any active player.

 

The guys get it. They understand it. Better then most fans.

[DrunkBomber]

I was at the Cell a few weeks ago. Apparently they have this thing called the "kiss cam." So, they put a camera on a guy and a girl in the crowd (which is unfair to homosexuals as it is) and they are supposed to just start kissing in front of everyone at the stadium. Now what if that camera winds up on a guy and a girl that arent dating or that simply dont feel comfortable with PDA? Is that not significantly worse? That can easily be classified as harassment and can put girls in a very uncomfortable position.

 

If people want to nitpick everything and make issues of things that simply arent a big deal than it would be nice if it was done more objectively,, because Im assuming everyone offended wont be attending White Sox games anymore or supporting the product. Im sure Ill have a bunch of people that are so appalled with the insensitivity but seriously, life is way to short to get offended by something like this. The team has been slumping and if someone tried to lighten the mood and loosen the team up lets not look too far into it. Their INTENTIONS werent to offend anyone they were just having some fun and to be honest, man or woman, that gets the PRIVILEGE of entering the club house should have thick enough skin to not let this bother them.

 

Also, for everyone comparing this to other jobs lets not forget that in this particular work place it is 100% male. You cant compare this to an office, you cant really compare it to any other workplace effectively or accurately. There are so many more important things going on in the world and in life and for anyone to put any energy into this is laughable.

[Hawkfan]

Yes, but the real question is:

 

Can the sex doll sing, "Don't Stop Believin'"?

 

haha best post ever, for that to happen the hardcore group would have to takeover the project.

[Dick Allen]

I agree. For most players the press is an unwelcome part of the job. But it is a big part of the job. And almost every job has it's not so much fun part. But to cash those checks they know it comes with the territory. And if you do it very well, they reap some big benefits.

 

By most accounts Michael Jordan was no choir boy. But he carefully guarded his image. He was engaging with the press, always acted like a pro in and around the court. And years after his retirement he still does more commercials than any active player.

 

The guys get it. They understand it. Better then most fans.

Michael Jordan was protected by the press. Roger Clemens was protected by the press. These guys got away with a lot of crap. There's plenty that goes on that doesn't get reported. Plenty that would make anyone on this board blush. While I don't agree with what went on in the clubhouse, I think it was very irresponsible of a few members of the press to report it. This is a room where men get dressed . What's next, are they going to start reporting on the size of each player's crank?

[DrunkBomber]

Michael Jordan was protected by the press. Roger Clemens was protected by the press. These guys got away with a lot of crap. There's plenty that goes on that doesn't get reported. Plenty that would make anyone on this board blush. While I don't agree with what went on in the clubhouse, I think it was very irresponsible of a few members of the press to report it. This is a room where men get dressed . What's next, are they going to start reporting on the size of each player's crank?

We can finally find out why Uribe is called "Little Papi"

[Texsox]

Also, for everyone comparing this to other jobs lets not forget that in this particular work place it is 100% male.

 

No, the workplace includes customers, reporters, a host of support personall who may or may not be male.

 

And there is a place for the guys to change away from everyone's eyes. There is a private area. In fact the players are expected to be decently clothed in the public (restricted) part of the locker room.

 

All this happened back in the 1970s. The issue of men and women in the locker rooms have been thrashed out decades ago.

[Texsox]

Michael Jordan was protected by the press. Roger Clemens was protected by the press. These guys got away with a lot of crap. There's plenty that goes on that doesn't get reported. Plenty that would make anyone on this board blush. While I don't agree with what went on in the clubhouse, I think it was very irresponsible of a few members of the press to report it. This is a room where men get dressed . What's next, are they going to start reporting on the size of each player's crank?

There are separate changing areas. The press is not allowed in when the guys are naked.

 

These guys are protected because they keep acts like this away from the office and work. That's the point.

[DrunkBomber]

No, the workplace includes customers, reporters, a host of support personall who may or may not be male.

 

And there is a place for the guys to change away from everyone's eyes. There is a private area. In fact the players are expected to be decently clothed in the public (restricted) part of the locker room.

 

All this happened back in the 1970s. The issue of men and women in the locker rooms have been thrashed out decades ago.

Its the teams locker room though. Its not the reporters locker room. The reporters are guests of the team when theyre in there. The locker room isnt open to everyone.

[Dick Allen]

There are separate changing areas. The press is not allowed in when the guys are naked.

 

These guys are protected because they keep acts like this away from the office and work. That's the point.

Have you been in the clubhouse? They get dressed at their stalls. The press is right there. Its even smaller in most road clubhouses.

[Texsox]

The players understand the locker room access rules. They have not changed since they entered the league. They knew reporters would see it. They knew a reporter(s) could and probably would report on it. If it's no big deal, why is anyone concerned they reported on it? If it's no big deal, just grown fathers having a little fun to break out of a slump, why should anyone complain it was even reported?

[Controlled Chaos]

I see the clubhouse as their house, especially, when they are on the road. Maybe we should restrict what music they listen to. Maybe we should restrict what they can watch on tv. Maybe we should restrict them from gambling or swearing. Maybe we should restrict them from playing pranks on each other. Maybe we should restrict them from giving each other the finger. Maybe we should restirct them from spraying beer and champagne. Where is the line drawn? It's enter at your own risk. That is the players domain. It is not a public place. They are not on the councourse. They are not in a hotel lobby. Nobody can just walk in there. A reporter has to have credentials and they are guests there. If they are offended by seeing a guys joint or naked ass, that is their issue. If they are offended by swearing...that is their issue. If they are offended by a childish immauture display of blow up dolls taking a bat in the arse.....that is their own issue. It is not their place to come into someone else domain and make policy. They are there to report on baseball. What else goes on is none of their business.

 

I think after this next game...when they open the doors to allow the reporters access ...every locker should just have a doll sitting there...because if reporters are going to report on topics besides baseball....they are gonna get about as much info from those dolls, as they are from the players

[Texsox]

Have you been in the clubhouse? They get dressed at their stalls. The press is right there. Its even smaller in most road clubhouses.

Yes, but not in Toronto. The press is given specific access times so players can get dressed, etc.

[DrunkBomber]

The players understand the locker room access rules. They have not changed since they entered the league. They knew reporters would see it. They knew a reporter(s) could and probably would report on it. If it's no big deal, why is anyone concerned they reported on it? If it's no big deal, just grown fathers having a little fun to break out of a slump, why should anyone complain it was even reported?

Idd still like to hear how this is even close to as bad as the kiss cam IN the stadium? If the problem with this is "harassment, making girls feel uncomfortable in the locker room or putting girls in an awkward situation" how is this even remotely close to as bad as the kiss cam? You dont think the kiss cam could very easily make a girl feel uncomfortable?