Andrew Whitworth frustrated by naked video, NFL policy

A video surfaced Sunday night of a taped NFL Network interview segment with Adam Jones in the Bengals locker room which included multiple Bengals in the background fully naked from both behind and the side. It prompted jokes across the Internet as it spread Monday.

Bengals offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth, who was among those naked in the background of the national TV interview, wasn’t laughing as he addressed the topic Monday.

This involved more than avoiding nudity on camera, rather, his desire to reopen the NFL policy on allowing media in the locker room with players at all.

“Being a guy that has been a player rep and a guy that’s always been against this policy, it’s a great example of why the open (locker) room policy is old and needs to change,” said Whitworth, who served as longtime Bengals representative with the NFL Players' Association before giving up the title to Vinny Rey this year. “You can’t judge us off who we will and won’t accept into our locker room and then say all these things we have to do, but then also put us in a situation where every single day I have to change clothes and be naked or not in front of media. It’s just not right. There’s no office, there’s no other situation in America where you have to do that. It’s dated, it’s old and it needs to change.”

Currently all media are allowed into NFL locker rooms following a 10-minute cooling off period following games. The league mandates locker rooms open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for a minimum 45 minutes. Similar policies exist in MLB, NHL and other professional American men’s sports.

“This is my office space,” Whitworth said. “I shouldn’t have to change in it and be in front of people I don’t know or really don’t have any purpose for being near me other than the fact they are interviewing other people. If I was a woman, this would be a completely different subject, and it would be a complete firestorm. We can’t always just serve women and everyone else. Men deserve a right, too. We have rights. We have privacy. We deserve all the things we want as well. As a man, I think it’s right the policy is changed.”

As for policy with female professional sports, the WNBA also opens locker rooms regularly, including after games following a 10-minute cooling down period.

Whitworth would likely prefer a policy similar to that utilized in Europe. For Premier League Soccer, no locker room access is allowed. The closest media get to players are in “mixed zones” players can walk through following games, though, those have proven to provide little access as the league doesn't require any player participation.

NFL PR chief Greg Aiello says the topic hasn’t been discussed in years. Whitworth would like to see that change.

“For me personally and my wife, we’re fine, but I think of it as if my daughter, Sarah, (was) 16, and she had to go to high school and listen to all the crap that’s going on today in the media about me being naked on camera, whatever would happen to her to ridicule or mock her, that’s the way that I see it, and as a father and a man, it’s wrong,” said Whitworth, who has four children with his wife Melissa.

No specific policy is in place regarding video shot to avoid players in the background, but a widely acknowledged process to keep all video without any compromising shots behind exists. It’s believed this has never occurred at NFL Network before. That’s where the major error came into play with the Network crew both on the scene and in New York.

“It was a regrettable mistake by our production team, one where we have already done a pretty thorough review of the procedures and processes by which were dropped along the way to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” said NFL Network VP of Communications Alex Riethmiller. “When we say it’s a regrettable mistake, I think implied in that is an apology to everyone that was affected, the players, the organization, the viewing public first and foremost.”

Whitworth, who spoke before NFL Network opted to comment on the situation, essentially predicted what would happen next.

“I’ve heard nothing other than I’m sure they will say they are sorry through our media or something and won’t issue a public apology, but that won’t be good enough,” Whitworth said. “This is a big issue to me.”