The Inspiration for Sideline Confidential By Brooke Bentley

I was standing on the periphery of a conference room in downtown Indianapolis watching reporters joust microphones in front of the next hyped NFL prospect. It was 2009, and at this time the NFL strictly limited media access to the Scouting Combine. The room was primarily filled with long-time print reporters, a small contingent of national TV reporters and a large TV crew from the NFL Network, which had the exclusive rights to broadcast the event. I looked around and counted just a handful of women. 

I was there on behalf of the NFL team I was working for at the time, the Houston Texans. My job was to interview potential draft picks and post videos and stories about them to the team’s website. For those unfamiliar with NFL Scouting Combine, it’s when around three hundred of the best college football players compete in a series of tests in front of NFL owners, front office executives, and scouts. From the bench press to IQ tests, each team evaluates its prospects every move.

As I studied my notes and waited for a Texans prospect to enter the room, a reporter I did not know whispered in my ear, “If you want to get on national TV, f-word that guy.” Then, he pointed to a well-known television reporter across the room. His hot coffee breath lingered in my ear as my face flamed in embarrassment. My mouth sealed tight, swallowing back the words I want to spit at him: “You’re a pig!” But I didn’t feel like I could talk back. I didn’t feel like I could say anything at all. Who was I to challenge a veteran in this business? I was in my mid-twenties, trying to forge my way into the world of sports media and starving for the next step in my career. I couldn’t afford to insult anyone. So I forced the sting of his comments to subside and filed away the experience in the recesses of my mind.

The longer I worked in sports journalism, the more stories I heard that were just like mine. Or way worse. I would listen to my colleagues, empathize with them, and then file away their accounts just like I did with my own experiences. I thought maybe one day I would access those mental files and incorporate them into a book. I had visions of writing the next The Devil Wears Prada set in the NFL. But I was way too immersed in the daily grind of sports reporting to write a novel. 

It wasn’t until after the birth of my first child that I felt the urge to dig into a storyline. The time away during my maternity leave had given me the space I needed from sports media to reflect on my experiences. I also had a new perspective on the challenges women face in the industry as I struggled with being a new mom juggling a hectic work schedule. 

I found most of my alone time came while I was pumping breast milk at work, so I would use those quiet moments to mentally draft the characters. Over the next few years, I wrote the manuscript intermittently while also having a second child. Then, I shelved it. I was busy “mommying” and working. 

As I transitioned into a job in the nonprofit sector, I vowed to finish the novel and get it out into the world. In 2020, I reread the manuscript and immediately realized I needed to up the stakes and lean into the “why” factor- that women continue to struggle to even the playing field in sports media. I researched the disturbing harassment allegations out of the Washington NFL team and decided to revisit the novel with a new lens.

I started with a blank page and a renewed determination to detail the sexual politics women face in sports journalism. Be pretty but not sexy. Know your sport but don’t outsmart the men. Be a great mother but don’t take off time from work. It can feel like an impossible tightrope. 

Through a young woman’s journey into the world of pro football- that’s what I set out to capture in Sideline Confidential. Yes, the novel is inspired by some of my experiences, but it truly is the story of so many women working in sports journalism and other male-dominated industries. It can be hard and scary for young women in entry positions to find their voice and stand up for themselves. I want this book to tell them that they aren’t alone. Many of us have been there and we can support each other by listening, speaking up, telling our stories, and giving each other a voice.

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Brooke Bentley is a former television anchor and award-winning sports reporter. After graduating with a master’s in journalism from the University of Southern California, she spent two years working for the Houston Texans as a media personality and over a decade working in sports journalism. Brooke now devotes her time to championing local nonprofits, including Homemade Hope, where she served as the development director. She and her husband live in Houston and are raising two young boys.

SIDELINE CONFIDENTIAL

A young sports journalist soon learns the toughest hits occur off the field.

Fresh out of journalism school, Blake Kirk lands her dream job as a reporter for her hometown pro football team―the job sure to propel her to the sidelines on network television. But from the first day, double standards and old-school entitlement smack her with the intensity of a defensive line.

Blake’s boss, Johnny, keeps her sidelined with rules that make it hard for her to do her job. He blocks her from interviewing players in the locker room even though other journalists have access. He encourages her to go with coworkers to “bond,” knowing full well they’re taking her to a strip club. Worse still, Johnny may be the one leaving notes on her desk about how great she looks in pants.

Hit after hit, Blake forges on, determined to prove her worth to the team and her journalism peers. But in a world filled with boozy exploits and overblown egos, Blake finds her moral compass wavering after a celebrity tryst. Can Blake realign her professional priorities and expose Johnny’s bullying before her dream job does her in?

Brooke Bentley is a former television anchor and award-winning sports reporter who graduated from the University of Southern California with a master’s in journalism. Through Sideline Confidential, she gives us a glimpse into the challenges women professionals face in the male-dominated world of pro sports.

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Category: On Writing