Christine Brennan Out Of Line With Perspective on Erin Andrews

            Christine Brennan is an award-winning columnist for USA Today and perhaps the leading female sportswriter in the country, a woman who is well-respected and paid for her opinions. On Wednesday, she should have kept them to herself.

            On her Twitter account, Brennan offered her two cents about the controversy surrounding ESPN reporter Erin Andrews, who was recently exploited all over the internet in a video that showed her naked in her hotel room, seemingly filmed Peeping Tom-style without her knowledge. In the post, Brennan diminished the gravity of the situation, insinuating that Andrews deserved what she got, ostensibly because of her physical appearance and the way she dresses on television. The acclaimed columnist seemed to take a swipe at Andrews’ professionalism and sought to add “perspective” by saying “there are 100s of women sports journalists who have never had this happen to them.”

            Usually write on target, Brennan was way out of line on this one. Her input was unwarranted, unfair, illogical and wrong. She may have been trying to make a grander point about women journalists being “smart” and, as she says, “not playing to the frat house” that is men’s sports, but what came out sounded catty, vindictive and grossly insensitive. As a longtime newspaper writer, Brennan is presumed to understand important journalistic principles like relevance, timeliness and sensitivity. Her opinion, which was Tweeted and not written as a column, demonstrated no respect for Andrews’ ordeal and, on a more practical level, was neither insightful nor necessary, and it smacked of envious resentment.

            True, Andrews’ public persona has bordered on celebrity, rather than reporter, largely due to her looks and her popularity among college males. And indeed, she sometimes seemed to break a cardinal rule of journalism by becoming bigger than the games and stories she covered. But her personal life is not a spectacle; after she is unwittingly exploited naked all over the internet, illegally videotaped by some pervert, is not the context in which to have a discussion about Andrews’ competence, professionalism or wardrobe.

            Simply put, Erin Andrews is a good-looking woman who has a job on television. But there are lots of good-looking women on TV, that’s nothing new. Would Brennan have cared as much if this had happened to Katie Couric? Would she prefer these women make themselves appear less attractive so they can be perceived strictly professionally? That seems petty and inane. As Howard Stern so eloquently put it, “people like to look at pretty girls;” Erin Andrews boosts ESPN’s ratings and gets people’s attention. You won’t see them complaining.

The bottom line is Andrews wasn’t asking to be the obsession of some creepy voyeur. There is no rational or circumstantial justification for what happened to her or why, and there wouldn’t be no matter how many sundresses she wore. She, like anyone, should feel comfortable in private and be able to change clothes in her hotel room. The way she dresses, which I would argue is more fashionable than sexual, and how she appears on television are certainly not grounds for violating her most personal privacy. Her appearance on TV is not an open invitation to be videotaped naked, in the same way that a woman wearing a short skirt on the street or out to a bar is not asking to be raped.

Brennan seems to be the figurehead of a less-vocal collection of female sports journalists, and her initial post may have revealed the true resentment her subsequent clarificapology hid: that many women in the business begrudge Andrews for her fame and television salary, and perhaps would not be unhappy to see her success reduced.

Christine Brennan, though, is typically an astute and intelligent writer. I was fortunate enough to meet her when she came back to speak at Northwestern, her alma mater. Not surprisingly, she came across as the consummate professional, someone who knew she was good at what she did and presumably was confident her success derived entirely from her journalistic chops. It was disappointing to hear her indirectly blame Erin Andrews for what befell her. She said in her apology that she just wanted women like Andrews to think about their position as role models for “the 12-year-old girl on the couch watching sports with her Mom or Dad.” Perhaps Brennan could consider if she still thought Erin Andrews brought this on herself Andrews were her own daughter. Brennan should bear in mind that she, too, is a role model for young female sports journalists, and remember that a good one is sensitive, judicious and fair.