More Power to the Local Sports Reporter Who Got Caught Looking at Rihanna's Lingerie Collection During a Live Hit

Meet Jake Gadon, sports Journo for CBS 13 in Sacramento. Who appears to be a fan - or at least dedicated to covering - everything that appeals to his Bay Area audience. The 49ers, Warriors, A's, Giants, Sacramento State. And if this recent bit of reporting he did on the Raiders firing Antonio Pierce is any indication, Rihanna's Valentine's Day collection:

Here's why I bring it up. Not to embarrass Jake Gadon. Quite the contrary. If you've ever been inside a local TV news room as I have, you appreciate what a grind it is. Those cats work long hours waiting around between those broadcasts. They constantly have to be ready for any breaking news. When the red light goes on, they have to be "on" as well, grabbing their viewers' attention by the throat and holding onto it. If it was easy, everybody would do it. But only a select few can, night after night, week after week, throughout the sports calendar. 

So when they need a bit of an eye candy break, by golly they deserve one:

And if I'm even mentioning this, I do so as part of a broader topic. Maybe I'm just being naive, but I like to think the culture is beginning to shift in a positive way. I can't help but believe that we're this, say, five or six years ago, my guy Jake would've been in trouble for this. Derided as sexist. Forced to issue a carefully crafted apology. Maybe even sent to the Sensitivity Training Gulag. 

At the height of the #MeToo era overreactions were becoming the norm. Everything that even suggested The Male Gaze was considered a hate crime. Patriarchal Misogynists were seemingly hiding behind every cubicle wall, ready to force their female co-workers into Handmaid's Tale outfits. Back then, even a TV personality with an impeccable career record was doomed if he was caught looking at an image as sexy as these:

Even if Rihanna posted this for her 150 million followers, it would've been deemed inappropriate for the workplace. And anyone who dared have it on their screen accused of fostering a hostile work environment by women who took personal days to attend the Million Pussy March and their Toby Flenderson allies who enforce the office rules.

I could be wrong. But I like to think that pendulum has swung back to something approximating normalcy. That cooler heads are prevailing. That a good employee can be cut some slack for looking at PG-13 images of a pop music superstar with a huge following dressed provocatively in order to sell underwear. Maybe we've all calmed down to the point we can give the benefit of the doubt more than we used to. And just assume he was shopping for a Mrs. Gabon or whoever his significant other is, with the holiday just five weeks away. Or simply doing what most healthy adult males do, which is be attracted to Rihanna. 

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I hope I'm right. If anything should happen to this Journo besides him reporting on the Niners search for a new defensive coordinator, we'll know I got ahead of myself and our civilization hasn't gotten there yet.