Lisa Olson
Lisa Olson is an American sports journalist. Her work has been featured in the anthology, "The Best American Sports Writing". She was previously a sports columnist for the New York Daily News, and the first female sports columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald, where she covered rugby union, Australian rules football, cricket and rugby league. She also was a national columnist for AOL's FanHouse sports website, and a columnist and the first woman in Sporting News' 120-year history to write the magazine's monthly back page. Olson is a member of the Baseball Writers' Association of America and is a Hall of Fame voter. She has covered sports stories in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Japan, China, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.
In 1990, while working at the Boston Herald, she alleged that she was sexually harassed by New England Patriots football players in the team's locker room. Olson sued the team, and the players she implicated were fined by the NFL after its own investigation. The incident is considered by many to be a watershed moment for women in sports journalism. Although Olson settled a civil suit, fans of the football team made threats on Olson's life in the aftermath. The Boston Herald offered her a transfer to Australia, where she would work for the Daily Telegraph in Sydney, which Olson accepted.
Alleged Sexual Arrassment
Women did not get equal access to post-game locker room interviews until a federal court decision in 1978. In 1985, the NFL enacted an equal access policy of its own.
On September 17, 1990, Olson was interviewing players in the Patriots locker room on a practice day. Two Patriots had complained earlier to James Oldham, the team's director of media relations, and to Pat Sullivan, the team's general manager, that they believed Olson was, in the players' words, "a looker," someone who stood around the locker room not interviewing anyone. Sullivan observed Olson and determined that she was acting professionally, interviewing Maurice Hurst, but took no other action. Several of the players allegedly taunted her by walking naked in her presence and by making vulgar comments and gestures. One player, Zeke Mowatt, allegedly fondled his genitals in front of her. Robert Perryman allegedly did the same while her back was turned, although how she would know this is unclear. Others, including Michael Timpson, allegedly made jokes and egged each other on. Olson claimed that Oldham was present during the alleged incident but did nothing.[1][2]
After Olson complained, describing the experience as a "mind rape", team owner Victor Kiam allegedly described her as a "classic bitch." He later apologized in a newspaper ad, while denying using crude language. Later he admitted to calling her a "classy bitch." Later, on February 4, 1991, at a male-only sports banquet in Stamford, Connecticut, Kiam told the attendees a crude joke about the incident. Referring to the United States military's use of Patriot missiles during the then-ongoing Gulf War, Kiam said to the audience: "What do the Iraqis have in common with Lisa Olson? They've both seen Patriot missiles up close." After criticism, Kiam apologized for the joke two days after he had told it.
Eventually, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue ordered an investigation under the aegis of former Watergate scandal prosecutor Philip Heymann; the 60-page report concluded that Olson was "degraded and humiliated." Mowatt was fined $12,500, the other two players $5,000, and the team itself $50,000, since no management had intervened at the time or immediately following. Half the cost of the team's fine was to defray instructional materials the league could send to all teams and players, and Tagliabue wrote a letter to Kiam expressing his belief that the incident had "damaged" the league. The general manager of the team was fired. In an interview on the March 11, 2011 edition of Bill Simmons' podcast, "The B.S. Report", Jackie MacMullan reported that the fines were never actually collected from the players.
After the incident became public, Olson was reportedly subjected to harassment by fans of the Patriots. Her tires were slashed, she received hate mail and death threats, and her apartment was burglarized. The Herald's then owner, News Corporation, offered to transfer her to Sydney, Australia, where she worked for The Daily Telegraph and the Sydney Morning Herald.
On April 25, 1991, Olson filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts state court against the Patriots, Kiam, Sullivan, Oldham, and the three players (Mowatt, Timpson, and Perryman), alleging violations of her civil rights, sexual harassment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and intentional damage to her professional reputation. On February 24, 1992, her attorney said that Olson had settled the lawsuit on undisclosed terms.
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