Whitworth, who was one of the players who was seen nude in the background of the NFL Network’s interview with Adam Jones following Sunday’s 34-21 victory in Buffalo, was the first to call for change when he addressed reporters Monday afternoon.
“He’s doing what he should be doing,” Winston said of Whitworth. “Any player around the league, if he has a problem with something should speak out. Sometimes guys just internalize things and just think, ‘Well there’s nothing I can do to change it.’ Well, you can speak out about it, you can talk about it and you can bring attention to it. That’s what Whit’s doing, and I applaud him for that and I’m going to help him in whatever way I can.”
Rey, who is the Bengals NFLPA representative, said he’s had multiple conversations about the issue with teammates Chris Carter and Emmanuel Lamur, whose lockers are on either side of his. And he said he will lobby for change after the season.
“I definitely will because I agree with Whit,” Rey said. “I stand with him on that I would like to see all the cameras somewhere else when we’re naked.
“I don’t have a problem with reporters,” he added. “I don’t want to get caught on camera being naked. I appreciate the media because there’s ways that we can partner together, like if I have a message I want to get out. I think we work together. But I mean, mistakes happen. We want to limit those.”
Winston said he’s not necessarily in favor of banning cameras from the locker room. He suggested extending the 10-minute cooling off period as one way to alleviate the problem.
“The camera-on policy 10 minutes after the game might be too soon,” he said. “Obviously, we come in, coach speaks, we’re still congratulating each other, we’re still shaking hands. So no one’s really had a chance to (shower and get dressed) yet. Maybe that’s a situation where media can be in there but the cameras shouldn’t be on till maybe a little later.”
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