Policy for ladies locker room

[Kristofor]

The school I went to has been remodeled to add an additional 4-6 gyms, indoor track, etc. since I attended so I don't know if it's still true, but at the time there were team meeting rooms and the trainer's office that had entrances from both the boys and girls locker rooms to avoid such situations.

I guess it depends what the facility standards/requirements are for your various teams... I was never on the swim team but for football we always had separate meeting space for halftime for both teams and that was also true for every school we played at.

If the host school is required to have a meeting room for the visiting team and doesn't then maybe the locker room gets used for that. However, in that case I'd expect the hosting school to have attendants at the doors blocking or at least warning others entering...

[Shep]

Since this was a visiting coach, I would have to say that he didn't know the setup of the locker room, or that mulitple events were going on around the same time. My school growing up didn't have a fancy indoor swimming pool. Most male coaches of female squads would routinely hold pep talks, half time meeting, after game meetings in the locker room, then would leave for the girls/women to dress/shower, etc.

To prevent this going forward, I would make sure their is some kind of outline available for visiting coaches/teams. That way everyone knows the facility and the ground rules.

[cgallery]

Well, a little update.

It turns out that for non-football/basketball sports, the school does not provide ANY sort of locker facilities for visiting teams. This has been the policy for years, has apparently been repeatedly communicated to the other teams, and is apparently well known. They (team/coach) weren't supposed to be in there at all.

The administrator my wife spoke to (from our local high school) was able to contact the coach, and the coach denied having been in the locker room at all. He says some of the girls had to use the restroom, but he wasn't in there. There is a ladies room which is much closer to the field on which they played, BTW.

I don't think it is going to go any further. While there are parents that apparently witnessed him leaving the locker room, taking it to the next level would be a big deal.

I'm not sure if the administrator notified the school the coach works for or not. I don't know if he is a new coach that may not be aware of the rules, etc. I'm not going to dig into it. Whether other parents of kids on the team will call around is out of our control. It is a small world, I wouldn't be surprised if someone knows someone that knows the coach or a kid on that team.

The local school board president's husband is one of my customers and we shoot the bull when he visits. I'm certainly going to mention it to him. I'd like a sign on girls locker rooms that says "No men allowed. Violators will be prosecuted." And I'd like it enforced.

[crokett]

The coach should never have been in there. When I was in high school, our pool had a separate entrance to the boys' locker room through the showers. I can't speak for the girls' locker room. We also did not provide locker facilities for any sports other than football or basketball that I know of. I ran cross country and track and we certainly were never in other schools' locker rooms.

[Pappy]

Not being there and having all the facts firsthand, I voted for clear communication to ward off future incidents. It may well have been a case of not knowing the situation and layout of the facilities.

If my granddaughter were involved, I doubt that I, or my son, would be as objective. I would pursue the matter through all channels until I was satisfied that the matter had been investigated and taken care of. My son would pursue the matter through the coach's face!

[Richard in Smithville]

My son would pursue the matter through the coach's face!

I have been thinking the exact same thing. Didn't want to be a bully but my girls come first.

[Ed62]

A written policy regarding this should be given to all schools who could be affected. Signs should also be located on the entrances, and worded very strongly. This should cover the host school from lawsuits, and the visitors with no way out if it should happen again.

For the instance in the original post, I would not cause any waves for the coach who entered the locker room because he might not have been aware there were other girls present, and even though it was poor judgment, there is no reason to believe there was anything more to it. A charge of sexual misconduct can ruin someone's life, so things should be thought out carefully.

Ed

[herb fellows]

I agree 100% with Ed. If there was a history of this behavior, that's one thing; but anyone can make a mistake. The fact that he denied being in there is a bit worrisome, but could strictly be a defensive posture due to the possible ramifications, justified or not.
If you were in there innocently, might you reasonably deny it if you know you had no bad intentions? We are human, and we do have flaws, and we will react when we feel we are being cornered.
You can say it's a stupid mistake, but who hasn't made one or more of those? Without positive proof that it was deliberate, there is no justice in pursuing this and possibly ruining someones career over something that could be totally innocent.

Post signs, specifically spell out that the prohibition also applies to all staff, Notify anyone who would reasonably be in that situation, and move on.

[cabinetman]

I also agree with Ed. It should not be denied, as that can be an indicator of foul intentions. In these times even a false accusation can haunt.
.

[woodturner]

The girls from the swim team didn't find him until they came out of the shower and were nude.

Are you saying that this locker room does not have private shower and dressing facilities? Never heard of a women's locker room that did not (not that I have spent much time in women's locker rooms, but my wife tells me these things). Unlike us guys, women, especially teenage girls, usually don't walk around nude in locker rooms or share a common shower room.

Also, some states have now proposed or passed laws that allow a student to choose which facilities they use - so men can use women's facilities if they "self identify" as female.
"It is now legal in the state of Colorado for a grown man to walk into a girl's restroom in an elementary school for whatever purpose, and it is illegal for the school to say you can't do that,"
http://www.9news.com/article.aspx?storyid=92754

So, depending on the state, even if the coach were in the locker room with nude girls, it may have been perfectly legal.

Which really says something about the state of affairs in this country, in my humble opinion.

[sweensdv]

Well stated Ed62. False guilt by innuendo should be as much of a crime as the act the innocent party was falsely accused of.

[cgallery]

Are you saying that this locker room does not have private shower and dressing facilities?

Correct. The facilities are old. They are apparently the same as the men's. You have a large shower room with maybe sixteen shower heads. Then you exit through a door to the locker room which apparently has a few mirrors, some lockers, and some benches. That is it.

To the best of my knowledge, there are no blackboards, whiteboards, meeting areas, etc.

Just going by what I've been told.

[woodturner]

Correct. The facilities are old. They are apparently the same as the men's. You have a large shower room with maybe sixteen shower heads. Then you exit through a door to the locker room which apparently has a few mirrors, some lockers, and some benches.

Interesting. I thought "private" shower facilities had been the norm for decades - I'm told that the high school I attended (build around 1947) had private facilities, so I thought that would be the norm for essentially all high schools.

I wonder if it varies by region? Maybe the midwest is more modest than the coasts, or something like that.

[cgallery]

Well stated Ed62. False guilt by innuendo should be as much of a crime as the act the innocent party was falsely accused of.

Any adult male that enters a girls locker room with showers and a dressing area is a threat. I don't care what his intentions were, I think at the very least he has boundary issues, and needs to be watched.

I think that is the distinction I draw from some of you. Some of you seem to think it depends on his intentions. I don't think you know someone's intentions until it is possibly too late. So better he just shouldn't be in there, period.

I think you'll all agree that guys don't belong in areas where girls are showering/dressing. Correct me if I'm wrong.

The problem is, this guy walked like a duck and quacked like a duck. He shouldn't be too surprised when people point at him and yell "duck!"

[cgallery]

Interesting. I thought "private" shower facilities had been the norm for decades - I'm told that the high school I attended (build around 1947) had private facilities, so I thought that would be the norm for essentially all high schools.

I wonder if it varies by region? Maybe the Midwest is more modest than the coasts, or something like that.

The pool and field house were built in the late 40's/early 50's. In Milwaukee (well, a suburb).

So it may have been just at the time that they were switching to more private facilities.