How Access to Athletes Has Changed Over Time for Sportswriters

My career as a New York Times sportswriter straddled two eras, from that time (1959) when reporters wore suits and fedoras and played poker with athletes on train rides, to the “modern” era of antiseptic locker rooms, timed interviews, and a respectful distance between player and writer. The players, meanwhile, have become millionaires. They don’t really need us. The writer? Not so poor, but not as rich, either. But we still need to talk to the players. We just don’t have the same easy rapport because there is virtually no real human interaction.

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