New York Times sports writer advises aspiring journalists to always be authentic
Being a woman in a male dominated profession is never easy, but for Karen Crouse it wasn’t something that bothered her as she worked her way through the ranks of the journalism world.
Philip Vukelich | Argonaut
New York Times sports writer Karen Crouse speaks to a gathering of students and faculty in the Student Union Building Ballroom Thursday.
The New York Times sports reporter visited the University of Idaho Thursday, donning newsprint pants, dozens of unbelievable stories and maintaining a mantra of “be yourself.”
Her “crazy pants,” she said, became a staple in her wardrobe when she was criticized early in her career for wearing skirts and dresses to press conferences and sporting events. She would catch word that someone thought her hem was too high and be shocked. For someone who always wore what was comfortable and didn’t think much more about it, she said her wardrobe quickly consumed her thoughts.
“I was never provocative but what I wore became more of a worry,” Crouse said. “I decided to wear pants from then on but I’m not a boring pants person … so I decided to wear only crazy pants, and one of the Philadelphia Eagle’s even recognized me as the crazy pants lady.”
Now, as an accomplished world-traveled sports columnist for the NYT, she’s got more than her fair share of stories that show her dedication and triumph in a field where it would have been easy to give up. But Crouse, who has worked in the industry for nearly 30 years, said there’s not a day that goes by that she’d rather be doing something else.
Crouse has covered everything from high school sports to Michael Phelps’ historic Olympic run to the NBA, NFL and PGA tour, yet insists she’s not a standard sports reporter.
“I’m not driven by statistics,” Crouse said. “I’m more interested in these people and what makes them tick. I learned at a very young age that what I write can have a positive impact in someone’s life and that’s what drew me in.”
Crouse said she first discovered her interest in sports journalism at just 13 years old. In developing a magazine for an English project, Crouse took her lifelong love of swimming and turned it into
“Splash” magazine.
As a shy teenager, her father pushed her to do an actual interview for the project rather than just make a story up. At the time, Crouse was competing in the same swim club as Mike Bruner — one of the top swimmers of the late 1970s. Bruner’s coach set up the interview with a nervous Crouse, and though Bruner may have been led to believe he was to be interviewed by one of the nation’s top journalists, he didn’t bat an eye at the prospect of a 13-year-old girl taking his time to ask about swimming.
Later that year Bruner was competing in the Olympic trials. He read Crouse’s story between events and has since attributed his 1976 Olympic gold medal in the 200-meter butterfly to Crouse’s interview. He said it changed his frame of mind at a time he wasn’t competing at his best, and her story pushed him to qualify for the team.
“When I read in the paper the next day that he said what I wrote made the difference in his mindset that helped him qualify, a light bulb went off,” Crouse said. “I told my dad this is what I wanted to do when I grew up and I’ve never considered anything else.”
Once Crouse learned of the impact she could have, the rest — as she says — is history. Following a collegiate career as a swimmer, she’s worked a variety of sports jobs and ultimately ended up at the NYT in 2005.
If it weren’t for the interview with Bruner and “Splash” magazine, Crouse said she doesn’t know where she’d be today — or if she would even be a journalist.
Crouse spoke at both Washington State University and the UI, a benefit of the NYT Readership program at the universities. The program provides free copies of the paper to students and can be found on campus in the Idaho Commons, Student Union Building and
Administration Building.
Her speech Thursday made Crouse’s affinity for storytelling clear as she wove through accounts of locker room debacles and career rough patches. But even in the tangents, she made sure her message
was clear:
“Always be authentic,” Crouse said.
In other words, she said, don’t be afraid to wear your crazy pants.
Kaitlyn Krasselt can be reached at [email protected]