MLB, in memo, rebukes clubs for 'unacceptable' workplace facilities for women employees

In a pointed letter to teams last week, Major League Baseball said numerous clubs' stadiums «fall embarrassingly below the high standards» necessary for women who are part of the game's traveling parties to do their jobs, create an «untenable working environment» and that organizations soon must reconfigure their facilities to fix what the league deemed «unacceptable,» according to a copy of the memo obtained by ESPN.

The letter, sent May 20 by MLB senior vice president of on-field operations Michael Hill to general managers, assistant general managers and some ballpark-operations staff, highlighted the issues a wide array of women — including coaches, trainers, analysts, translators, mental-health professionals, massage therapists, player-development employees and others — face because of substandard facilities. MLB regulations laid out in a March 16, 2021, memo require that women staffers for home and road teams receive a clean locker room space that is close to the main clubhouse, is private and includes a restroom and shower.

«Over the first six weeks of the season,» the memo said, «it has become clear that a number of Clubs are not in compliance with these requirements, particularly with respect to hosting women on visiting teams.»

The memo echoed the sentiments of multiple women affected by the substandard facilities who spoke with ESPN on the condition they not be named. Because they often must walk to other areas of the stadium to go to the bathroom, the women said, they spend a disproportionate amount of time planning trips to other areas of the stadium, hindering their ability to be accessible to players and staff. One woman said a female colleague's response when someone asks her what the most difficult part