I have known Cheryl Raye-Stout since forever. She has been a long-time sports radio reporter in Chicago.

Women in the lockerroom is a non-story, but that wasn’t the case back in the 80s. On her blog on WBEZ.org, Raye-Stout writes about her difficulties back then and how a young quarterback named Jim Harbaugh changed the culture for the Bears.

She writes:

The media relations person at Halas Hall announced that the locker room was open. There was a group of reporters, (very small compared to the numbers now) and I walked in the middle of the group. That is when I was greeted by angry, hurtful words and loud obnoxious screams. It was evident it was directed at me and the reporters all stepped away as I took the abuse. At that point, the Bears media person told me I had to leave and would not have access.

I walked out the door unsure as to what had just happened. I controlled my anger as the realization set in.

The situation changed when the Bears drafted Harbaugh in 1987:

A few weeks into the season I asked to talk to Jim as I sat on the floor. The media person went into the locker room and brought the rookie out for me. Jim looked at me and then said to the media person, “Why can’t she go in the locker room like she does after games?”

He wasn’t kidding. Jim had the firm look he shows now as San Francisco’s coach. There was no answer that would be satisfactory to Harbaugh. There was more to the conversation, but for me, his first words were the most relevant.

Until that point, no one else had even challenged or really cared about my situation. Jim and I talked, and we walked into the locker room. There were no angry voices, there were no insults. (Now there was no red carpet or rose petals thrown either.) At times there were some other incidents, but this was a huge change at Halas Hall.

Raye-Stout never forgot the gesture. She obviously has good reason to pull for Harbaugh Sunday.