Wearing team apparel on the job

I'd probably be mad if someone did that to me. Although this was stuff that was taught in college so it was never a problem to me.

I don't know if I would ever approach someone in the press box and tell them not to wear team colors.

 

i would want to help them understand why it's unprofessional and why they should present themselves in an objective manner. most of the time, i am sure, no one has taken the time to explain this to him.

 

I'd approach this like I approach everything else in life. If you want to make a jackass out of yourself (as long as you're not one of my three children) I'm not going to stand in your way.

 

okay, what about this:

since SIDs make the proverbial announcement of "no cheering in the press box", would it be wrong to make a similar announcement regarding the wearing of team apparel by accredited members of the media?

 

It's a real problem on college beats. The Scout guy on my old beat, who I really liked personally, was always decked out in team T-shirts.

I don't even wear team "gear" on my days off. Not just talking the team I cover, but any team. It just seems pretty childish to me, I guess. I think I saw the Puddy episode of "Seinfeld" one day and thought, yep, that's it. Don't want to be that guy.

I have a couple hooded sweatshirts that I wear to the gym or to shovel of the local NFL team that I root for on Sundays and the law school I'm headed to, and that's it. I'm a polo/button-up/jeans/slacks/sports jacket kind of guy, and I suggest that if any of you want to get some personal and professional respect as you near the big 3-0 and beyond, you become the same. That's a guideline when you're visiting Applebee's or Bennigan's, but an absolute hard-and-fast rule when you're on the job.

 

To me, it should be a recruiting violation if you're sporting team gear and calling or visiting with recruits as a member of the media.

 

Not wrong, but it would be hard to call someone's choice of dress a distraction. In the same way that cheering in the press box is.

 

I know a sports editor who heard about a stringer wearing a sweatshirt from one college while covering said school's biggest rival. The rival's coach called the SE and the SE tells aspiring journalists to not wear team apparel.

I say let it be and let the guy be the butt of everyone's jokes.

 

at the weekly media luncheons i attend for our D-I football team, there's one dude who wears different logo-infested gear every time..one week it's the Red Sox, the next the Padres.or the Eagles or the Steelers..

 

So you never wear clothing supporting a sports team, except for when you wear your clothing supporting a sports team?

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I think the issue here is that team apparel -- any team, pro, college or prep -- isn't acceptable to wear to the office, the office in our case being a press box. As far as I can tell, the first question didn't deal with wearing a Penn State t-shirt to cover a Penn State game. It isn't an issue of "fanbois" or dumb college kids. Of course, what is SportsJournalists.com if it doesn't take the opportunity to bitch about homers in the press box?

 

so you're telling me i can't i wear this

 

I have a hat that says "Go To Hell Ole Miss" that somebody gave me.

It's in a box someplace, fondly recalled but never worn.