#Melissa Ludtke

[todaysdocument]

Order with Notice of Entry Judgment

"granting access to all accredited sports reporters to the locker room without regard to their sex"

Record Group 21: Records of District Courts of the United States Series: Civil Case Files File Unit: [Melissa Ludtke and Time, Incorporated v. Bowie Kuhn, Commissioner of Baseball, et al.]

[stamp] MICROFILM SEP 26 1978 [stamp] MICROFILM SEP 26 1978 58 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK MELISSA LUDTKE and TIME, INC., Plaintiffs, -against- BOWIE KUHN, Commissioner of Baseball, LELEAND MacPHAIL, President of the American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, the NEW YORK YANKEES PARTNERSHIP; The Mayor of the City of New York; The Commissioner of Parks and Recreation for the City of New York; and the Director of the Economic Development Administration of the City of New York, Defendants. [stamp] U. S. DISTRICT COURT FILED SEP 25 1978 S. D. OF N. Y. 77 CIV. 6301 ORDER [handwritten] + Judgment In accordance with its opinion of this date, the court now ORDERS that plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment be and is hereby GRANTED, and defendants' motion for summary judgment is hereby DENIED. It is further ORDERED: 1) That defendants, their officers, agents, representatives, servants, employees, and all persons acting in concert and participation with them, be and they hereby are permanently enjoined from refusing to admit plaintiff Melissa Ludtke to the locker rooms of the clubhouses at Yankee Stadium solely on the ground of her sex; 2) That defendants shall adopt one of the al- ternative methods referred to in the court's opinion of this date to protect the privacy of ballplayers within the locker room while granting access to all accredited sports reporters to the locker room without regard to P-043-B 58 FPI.MI--9.9.75.150M.4345 their sex; and 3) That a copy of this injunctive order shall be served on the "city defendants", dismissed from this action by order of the court dated April 14, 1978, forth- with. Dated: New York, New York September 25, 1978 SO ORDERED [signature] Constance Baker Motley CONSTANCE BAKER MOTLEY U. S. D. J. [stamp] JUDGMENT ENTERED [handwritten] - 9/26/78 Raymond F. Burghardt CLERK P-043-B - 2 - FPI.MI--9.9.75.150M.4345 INDEX NO. 77 Civ. 6401 (CBM) UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK MELISSA LUDTKE and TIME, INC., Plaintiffs, -against- BOWIE KUHN, Commissioner of Baseball, et al., Defendants. ORDER WITH NOTICE OF ENTRY CRAVATH, SWAINE & MOORE Attorneys for Plaintiffs ONE CHASE MANHATTAN PLAZA NEW YORK, N. Y. 10005 Tel. No. HAnover 2-3000 [stamp] FILED U.S. DISTRICT COURT SEP 25 4 05 PM '78 S.D.OF N.Y. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK MELISSA LUDTKE and TIME, INC., Plaintiffs, -against- BOWIE KUHN, Commissioner of Baseball, LELAND MacPHAIL, President of the American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, the NEW YORK YANKEES PARTNERSHIP; The Mayor of the City of New York; The Commissioner of Parks and Recreation for the City of New York; and the Director of the Economic Development Administration of the City of New York, Defendants. 77 Civ. 6301 (CBM) NOTICE OF ENTRY OF ORDER [stamp] LAW DEPARTMENT CITY OF NEW YORK 78 SEP 25 P3:42 OFFICE OF CORP COUNSEL PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that an Order, of which the within is a true copy, was entered and filed in the office of the clerk of the above-named Court on the 25th day of September 1978. September 25, 1978. CRAVATH, SWAINE & MOORE Attorneys for Plaintiffs, One Chase Manhattan Plaza, New York, N. Y. 10005 TO: Allen G. Schwartz, Esq., Corporation Counsel, Attorney for Municipal Defendants, Municipal Building, New York, N. Y. 10007

[sportshistoryweekly]

Few landmark court decisions come down in the world of sports but 40 years ago this month, a federal judge ruled that women reporters could not be barred from interviewing players inside the locker room. In January, 1975, two female journalists became their own story after breaking the sex barrier...

[girlsplaybaseball]

Women in sports media still suffer despite breakthroughs

Women in sports media still suffer despite breakthroughs

Former reporter Melissa Ludtke scored a landmark court victory in 1978 permitting her to cover baseball clubhouses, but there is more work to be done. — Read on www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2021/01/30/women-sports-media-still-suffer-despite-breakthroughs/4305605001/

[theunsungheroines]

This was clipped out of a newspaper, don't know which one, by the folks at Time Inc. during Melissa Ludtke’s legal action and is now part of her archived documents at the Schlesinger Library at Harvard. Ludtke was a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit, Melissa Ludtke and Time, Inc., Plaintiffs, v. Bowie Kuhn, Commissioner of Baseball et al., that is credited with giving equal access to Major League Baseball locker rooms to women sports reporters. In 1977, Ludtke sued the baseball commission on the basis that her 14th amendment rights were violated when she was denied access to the New York Yankees clubhouse while reporting on the 1977 World Series. She won the lawsuit. The court stated her fourteenth amendment right was violated since the New York Yankees clubhouse was controlled by New York City. The court also stated that her fundamental right to pursue a career was violated based on her sex. When asked how the case, Ludtke vs. Kuhn, has impacted journalism she said "It increased enormously the number of young women who came into sports media — as reporters, as employees of sports teams and league offices, in agencies representing athletes and in other aspects of sports work that earlier generations of women had not been involved with, such as working as team trainers or as umpires." #theunsungheroines

[nyyankeesfans]

OTD Dec 29 1977 Sports Writer Melissa Ludtke files suit against MLB, the #Yankees, and New York City officials for denying her access to the locker room during the #WorldSeries violating the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment by giving an unfair advantage to males.pic.twitter.com/PLb8mwCQWy

OTD Dec 29 1977 Sports Writer Melissa Ludtke files suit against MLB, the #Yankees, and New York City officials for […]

Source: New York Yankees – BaseballNews.info

[harlemrestaurantrow]

You're invited: New York Sports Tours and Dinner - Recognizing Melissa Ludtke

You’re invited: New York Sports Tours and Dinner – Recognizing Melissa Ludtke

Save the date for September 24th! (The views expressed in this post are the author’s own.)

[hottytoddynews]

Carly Reeves is a University of Mississippi sophomore marketing major from Joplin, Missouri, who grew up with five boys. Playing sports was all they did.

Reeves participated in snowboarding, track, basketball, softball, gymnastics, golf, cheerleading, cross country and soccer. She even practiced with her middle school football team.

Even though she doesn’t play much anymore, she watches sports every night.

“I can’t fall asleep unless ESPN or Sports Center is on,” she said.

When football season comes around, her family plays fantasy football together and usually participates in “trash talk” because they all cheer for different teams.

Reeves wants to work in the marketing department for a baseball team, but she believes women struggle in the sports field.

“I remember always going to my friend’s house to watch March Madness games, and anytime a female reporter would come on the screen, all the men in the room would freak out,” she said. “I remember one time her dad specifically said, ‘Get the lady off the screen,’ then made gagging sounds.”

Being a woman and having a career in the sports field can be hard for women who have to prove themselves more than men.

The Sports Emmy Awards gives an award to the most outstanding sports personality in sports event analyzing. The award made its debut in 1997, and since then, has only been awarded to men.

It wasn’t until 2011 that the Sport Emmy Awards created a new category for women sports reporters. Michele Tafoya, an American sportscaster who has been a sideline reporter for NBC Sunday Night Football for NBC Sports since 2011, won.

It used to be that men had a huge advantage in sports journalism. In fact, female reporters have not always been able to interview players in the locker room before or after games.

In 1977, Sports Illustrated reporter Melissa Ludtke sued the New York Yankees because they banned her from entering the locker room to interview players during the World Series. Ludtke won her case because the judge decided the practice violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

Laws can change every day, but social behaviors and attitudes do not change easily. Some people think that because it is sports-related, women do not understand what is going on. Some believe women in sports know less than their male counterparts.

Believe it or not, gender does not determine how much someone knows about sports.

Another thing that makes it harder for women to have sports-related careers is sexual harassment. In 2014, Pew Research reported that 25 percent of women compared to 13 percent of men are more likely to be exposed to sexual harassment in sports-related career positions.

Dana O’Neil worked 25 years as a sports writer. “The difference for women is it can be very nasty and vile and goes into sexually derogatory insults,” she said. “It goes into a place men never have to deal with. It’s not about sports. It’s not about writing. It’s about your gender and how I can demean you and make you feel worthless because of your gender.”

It’s an issue that when someone types “top female sports journalists” into Google, the first thing that pops up is an article titled, “Top 30 Hottest Female Sports Reporters.”

What the social scene is telling women is that if they don’t fit society’s standards for beauty, they are not going to be recognized as much as those who do are, no matter their reporting and journalism skills. There seems to be a lack of respect for women in this career.

Reeves believes women have much to offer, including a fresh perspective. She feels more comfortable knowing women are in the field more now than they used to be.

“I feel that women, being in the field as reporters and journalists, can change the way the media interacts with female athletes,” she said. “We’ve all seen the videos with the outrageous diet, weight and otherwise sexist questions toward female athletes. I feel like putting more women in the field could help change this dynamic.”

Today, it is becoming easier for women to get jobs in sports-related careers because stations seeking diversity are hiring more women. Even though it is great that this is happening, will women only get hired because companies are trying to fill a quota, or because they are talented sports broadcasters?

Universities, schools and journalists should work together to promote sports journalism to young women. It’s important that more women enter this field because they can bring different opinions and ideas.

When there are more opinions and ideas, better quality journalism is produced. Journalism is not just the “old boys club” anymore, and society needs to realize that.

By Sarah Kane

Read more stories like this on Oxford Stories.

For questions or comments, email hottytoddynews@gmail.com.

The post Oxford Stories Opinion: Society Should Realize That Sports Journalism Isn’t Just for Men appeared first on HottyToddy.com.

[todaysdocument]

Complaint, Ludtke v Kuhn, 12/29/1977. 

Journalist Melissa Ludtke sued MLB commissioner Bowie Kuhn over the Yankees’ policy of banning female reporters from the locker room. The Court found that the policy violated the equal protection and due process clause of the 14th Amendment. 

Record Group 21: Records of District Courts of the United States

Series: Civil Case Files

File Unit: [Melissa Ludtke and Time, Incorporated v. Bowie Kuhn, Commissioner of Baseball, et al.]

Transcription:

[on top right side, rubber stamps,

first stamp; "77 CIV. 6301"

second stamp; "U.S. DISTRICT COURT, FILED DEC 29 1977. S. D. OF N. Y."

third stamp; "COMPLAINT JUDGE MOTLEY"]

[on top right side, handwritten, "1", circled.

handwritten inside of second stamp, under date, "12:01"]

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

-----------------------------------------

MELISSA LUDTKE and TIME, INCORPORATED,

Plaintiffs,

-against-

BOWIE KUHN, Commissioner of Baseball,

LELAND MacPHAIL, President of the

American League of Professional

Baseball Clubs, THE NEW YORK YANKEES

PARTNERSHIP, ABRAHAM BEAME, Mayor of

the City of New York, JOSEPH

DAVIDSON, Commissioner of Parks and

Recreation for the City of New York,

and DENNIS ALLEE, Director of the

Economic Development Administration

of the City of New York,

Defendants.

-----------------------------------------

[underlined] Jurisdiction

1. Jurisdiction of the Court is invoked pur-

suant to 28 U.S.C. § 1343, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the United

States Constitution, and by reason of the doctrine of pendent

jurisdiction.

2. The amount in controversy exceeds $10,000,

exclusive of interests and costs.

[underlined] Parties

3. Plaintiff Melissa Ludtke is a woman employed

[on bottom right of page, handwritten "1", circled]

[page 2]

time high of 40,781,061.

18. Time publications reflect the great public interest in baseball by devoting substantial editorial resources and news coverage to baseball.

19. The public interest in professional baseball extends far beyond the results or play-by-play descriptions of the games. For example, sports fans want to know how the players think how they played in a particular game, how the players relate to one another and to their owners, coaches and manager and, in general, what the players are like as human beings.

20. In response to that public interest and to increase fan interest and attendance, defendants Kuhn, MacPhail and the New York Yankees encourage and, together with the City, profit from news coverage going beyond the mere results of the games. Accordingly, they have permitted reporters access to players in the clubhouses of major league baseball teams immediately after professional baseball games.

21. Access to the clubhouses of major league baseball teams immediately after games, however, has been and continues to be limited to male reporters. Accredited female reporters, including plaintiff Ludtke, have been and continue to be barred from such access solely because of their sex.

-8-

[thesnhuup]

@snhuprez: YWCA Susan B Anthony Dinner, where Melissa Ludtke tells her story as 1st woman journalist allowed in locker rooms. https://t.co/bTVJcb13Si

http://twitter.com/snhuprez

[junker-town]

The Yankees weren't even supposed to be in the postseason yet

Thursday’s Say Hey, Baseball looks at the well-ahead of schedule Yankees, the latest from the NLDS, and 69 years of Cleveland sadness.

You know it's true. Search your feelings. The Yankees defeated the Indians in Game 5 of the ALDS and have moved on to an ALCS matchup with the Astros, but New York wasn't supposed to be here. They weren't supposed to be in the ALDS, or even the AL Wild Card Game, and yet, here they are.

That's not a negative critique of the Yankees or what they have done. In fact, it's the opposite. They weren't supposed to be here: they are, anyway. The Yankees were rebuilding, adding youth to the roster while avoiding adding any costly veterans, a year removed from trading away Andrew Miller for prospects at the deadline, months removed from dealing Brian McCann to another contender in order to make room for Gary Sanche to play full-tie. Fans wondered who would be packaged off next to speed things along. It turns out that the answer was "no one," because the Yankees who remained were well ahead of schedule.

At the end of March, Aaron Judge was still potentially going to start the season at Triple-A. He had crushed the ball in spring training, but he had also struggled in 2016, and this wasn't some can't-miss prospect the Yankees were dealing with. Judge's best season of his entire professional career came in 2017, and it came out of nowhere, and it's one of the major reasons New York is where they weren't yet supposed to be.

Judge isn't the lone reason, even if he's a major one. The 24-year-old Sanchez continued to thrive. Aaron Hicks basically doubled his OPS+ from 2016, and combined with his glove, put up about a four-win season despite only playing half of one. Luis Severino went from being a young starter who might have a future in the bullpen to a legitimate ace who can still throw an effective 100 mph deep into games. CC Sabathia not only was able to tap into whatever fountain of youth he found in 2016 once more, but he built on that season to put up his best numbers since 2012 — the last time he was a dependable arm near the top of a rotation.

The Yankees weren't supposed to be here yet, but they were building to exactly this — it just happened much earlier than anyone expected. There is a real chance here for New York to kick off a multi-year stretch of success, powered by their impressive young players, and they haven't even hit the part of their schedule where Bryce Harper is available.

The Astros stand in the way, and they were supposed to be here by now. Everything they've done has led to this, and the timing is so spot-on that Sports Illustrated released a cover story years ago proclaiming 2017 the year for Houston. It's odd that the Astros are the ones who were meant to be here and the New York Yankees are the surprise, but this is baseball we're talking about.

What can you even say about the Indians that hasn't been said every time they do this over the last 20 years or so? Losing clinching games is their thing. See, the Cubs were a sad mess because they never even gave themselves opportunities to fail on a meaningful stage. Cleveland, though? They get there, and they blow it, and then they do it all over again.

Antibiotics and an IV, man. Stephen Strasburg got plenty of and from both before his flu-ridden start against the Cubs, and he was so great it makes you wonder what he would have done if he were feeling 100 percent.

Good luck using the Metro to get back home from Cubs/Nationals Game 5 tonight! Spoiler: you can't.

Here's three things we learned from the Yankees' defeat of Cleveland.

If not for Stephen Strasburg absolutely shoving, you would hear a lot more about Didi Gregorius' night at the plate.

And here's your 2017 ALCS schedule. And the times for both ALCS and NLCS games.

Jon Lester shocked everyone by successfully picking off Ryan Zimmerman, who should have to hang his head in shame for the rest of 2017.

Bay Area teams and athletes are donating to North Bay wildfire relief.

MLB, the Yankees, and the state of New York are sending a plane of supplies to Puerto Rico, which is still devasted by Hurricane Maria.

Forty years ago yesterday, journalist Melissa Ludtke was barred from the clubhouse during the World Series by MLB commissioner Bowie Kuhn. She wrote about this (and more!) over at ESPN W.

John Farrell is out as Red Sox manager, and Tim Britton has the reasonable explanation as to why.

As Chad Finn writes, Farrell's legacy is defined by "yeah, buts."Farrell did a lot of good! You could cancel it out with the bad. But you could also go back-and-forth with the good and bad forever and never get anywhere except upset at whoever you're arguing with.

The Tigers recently fired Brad Ausmus, and are intrigued by Alex Cora, but they aren't alone. The Red Sox also like their former infielder.

[girlsplaybaseball]

Listen to Melissa Ludtke, the Woman Who Opened Up Baseball’s Clubhouses and Locker Rooms to Women in Podcasts Listen to Melissa Ludtke, the Woman Who Opened Up Baseball's Clubhouses and Locker Rooms to Women from Bearcat in Podcasts.

[theunsungheroines]

For all you marchers out there learn this story! In 1973 Melissa Ludtke graduated from Wellesley College, which prides itself on matriculating “women who will make a difference in the world.” Five years later, when she was 26, Melissa opened the doors to women’s equality in the world of sports journalism. In September of 1974, Melissa had been hired as a researcher/reporter at Sports Illustrated magazine, beginning her journalism career in the overwhelmingly male world of sports reporting. Three years after she was hired, the higher standard she'd held herself to paid off: she was assigned coverage of the 1977 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers. There, Melissa hit a seemingly impassable barrier when Major League Commissioner Bowie Kuhn said that because of her gender she would not be permitted into the teams' locker rooms for essential post-game interviews. Kuhn’s decision denied her the same access that male colleagues had. When negotiations between Sports Illustrated and the Commissioner failed to secure equal access for its reporter, Time, Inc. filed a lawsuit in federal court with Melissa as its plaintiff. In September 1978, district court judge Constance Baker Motley ruled in Melissa’s favor by ordering that women be allowed equal access to what their male colleague had. In January 1979, Melissa left the magazine. Even though she wrote the feature story, “The Despot and the Diplomat,” of the 1978 spring baseball issue about the strategic relationship of the catcher and home plate umpire, along with many other stories, she had not been promoted since her arrival five years earlier. She worked at CBS News, then Time magazine. In 1997, her book On Our Own: Unmarried Motherhood in America was published; the next year, she was named editor of Nieman Reports at Harvard University's Nieman Foundation for Journalism. She now produces and writes the transmedia project, Touching Home in China: in search of missing girlhoods. #theunsungheroines #gamechangers #whyimarch

[this-day-in-baseball]

December 29, 1977 Melissa Ludtke, a Sports Illustrated sports writer, files suit against major league baseball, the Yankees and New York City officials for denying her access to the locker room to interview players during the World Series.

[girlsplaybaseball]

Baseball: A Sport Girls Love. A Sport Girls Play. — Melissa Ludtke

Baseball: A Sport Girls Love. A Sport Girls Play. — Melissa Ludtke — Read on www.melissaludtke.com/blog/2018/4/17/e1bo23c0vx4rb15gs0jug5ngp2qo6n

[girlsplaybaseball]

The fight for women sports reporters' access to locker rooms is history -- or is it?

The fight for women sports reporters’ access to locker rooms is history — or is it?

On this day in 1977, Melissa Ludtke was barred from reporting the World Series from the teams’ locker rooms. She faced off against the MLB commissioner and won access a year later, but the attitudes about women in sports still linger. Source: The fight for women sports reporters’ access to locker rooms is history — or is it?

[girlsplaybaseball]

September 25, 1977: Female Sports Writer Files Suit Against Major League Baseball | Crime Time

This Day in Crime History is a flash briefing available on Amazon Alexa. Just search OXYGEN to enable. On September 25, 1977, writer Melissa Ludtke filed a suit against the Major League Baseball commission to allow women to gain access into restricted areas, including locker rooms and clubhouses. Ludtke’s suit was successful, leading to an influx of female sports writers in a profession seen as…