Is It Ever Okay to Ask a Woman for Her Phone Number?
Wiley Ballard, a sports journalist, is being dragged for what critics are calling an “unprofessional disgrace,” “insanely inappropriate,” and “GROSSSSSSS.”
CBS MLB editor Katie Feldman said: "This is one of the most insanely inappropriate things I've ever seen. Like I legitimately cannot believe it's real."
Ballard was on the air interviewing two women. With some encouragement from his colleagues, Ballard asked one of them for her phone number. She gave it to him.
I can’t believe he wasn’t arrested.
Obviously, there are legitimate criticisms to be made about workplace conduct and professional boundaries.
It’s worth considering, though, whether some of the intensity of the backlash stems from something else too: the relationship between gender and status in the dating market.