Kyle Juszczyk has called out a San Francisco 49ers reporter in a bizarre argument over locker room interviews with players.
The NFL’s Players Association is urging the league to make ‘immediate changes’ and move interviews away from where stars get dressed.
‘Players feel that locker room interviews invade their privacy and are uncomfortable,’ a statement read on Friday.
The NFLPA did not name any specific journalists but Juszczyk singled out reporter Grant Cohn – who covers San Francisco for Sports Illustrated – on social media.
‘Maybe we can keep Grant Cohn from always hanging around our lockers while we’re changing,’ the 49ers fullback said.
‘I’m starting to think certain players on the 49ers don’t like me,’ Cohn wrote on X, formerly Twitter, shortly after. He then shared an article calling for the 49ers to sit Juszczyk, adding: ‘I stand by this’
Two-time Super Bowl champion Torrey Smith, meanwhile, accused journalists of looking at players’ private parts.
‘If only y’all knew how awkward some of the male reporters act,’ he wrote on social media.
Juszczyk, 33, has been with the 49ers since 2017 and was a first-team All Pro in 2023 as San Francisco reached the Super Bowl.
Juszczyk and Co were beaten by the Kansas City Chiefs, with the fullback’s wife Kristin hitting the headlines after making personalized jackets for the likes of Taylor Swift and Brittany Mahomes.
Journalists are typically permitted to enter locker rooms a few days a week, to speak to players after games and practice.
The NFLPA insists it is not trying to ‘limit media access’ but only wants to ‘respect players’ privacy and dignity.’
‘Over the past three years, the NFLPA has tried to work with the NFL and Pro Football Writers of America to move media interviews out of locker rooms,’ the statement said.
‘However, there has been little willingness to collaborate on a new solution. Players feel that locker room interviews invade their privacy and are uncomfortable.
The NFLPS continued: ‘The NFL’s current media policy is outdated. We the NFLPA Executive Committee, urge the NFL to make immediate changes to foster a more respectful and safer workplace for all players.
‘In the meantime, we encourage each player to ask for interviews outside the locker room during the week.’
