Privacy in the Field of Play

       Minutes before he was set to play against the Boston Celtics in a game at the Boston Garden, all-star guard Oscar Robertson ducked into a men's room at the Garden. Robertson needed to make a quick "pit stop" before the opening tip-off. As Robertson stood at a urinal taking care of business, a fan approached and asked the "Big O" for an autograph. Robertson was stunned and, in a plaintive voice, asked the fan, "Can't I even piss in peace?"

      In any analysis of privacy rights in athletics, two initial questions arise. First, has an athlete placed himself or herself in the "public gaze?" Second, has the athlete signed away his or her right to privacy? The context of the athlete's activity becomes critical. When athletes do not invite the public gaze, it stands to reason that they should have a right to privacy. A trip to the bathroom is the quintessential "private affair." Oscar Robertson was not inviting the public gaze when he retreated to the men's room at the Boston Garden. If nothing else, the right of privacy should guarantee Robertson the freedom to "piss in peace."