Notre Dame players hurled 'insults and threats' at reporter in 'ugly' locker room scenes

Dan Wolken of USA Today Sports has shed light on the "unbecoming" scenes he witnessed in the Notre Dame locker room after their defeat in the College Football Playoff National Championship.

On Monday, the Fighting Irish endured a heart-wrenching 34-23 loss to Ohio State at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Despite rallying with 16 unanswered points in the second half and closing the gap to eight, Notre Dame couldn't secure a comeback victory.

Ohio State 's Jeremiah Smith made a pivotal 56-yard catch late in the game, sealing the win for the Buckeyes.

The loss was clearly hard for the Notre Dame players to digest, with some reportedly venting their anger at media personnel.

Wolken took to social media to describe the chaotic atmosphere, tweeting: "Bizarre scenes from the Notre Dame locker room, players yelling at reporters, coaches warning people not to ask certain questions.

Amateur hour." He elaborated on the incident further in a detailed Reddit post, explaining that he entered the Fighting Irish locker room intending to interview Christian Gray, who was near Smith during his decisive reception.

Instead, Wolken claimed, he found himself amidst players berating journalists for questioning the disheartened cornerback about the crucial play.

"When I walked into the locker room, there were a small number of reporters in there.

But some of them had already approached Gray and tried to ask about the play," Wolken recounted.

"As I walked in, a few players were shouting obscenities at the reporters who had been there and complaining about the fact that Gray was asked about Jeremiah Smith.

"I noticed that a staff member had walled off access to the locker and said that he wasn't going to answer questions about the play.

So I turned around to leave because there was no point wasting my time and was going to go over to the Ohio State locker room.

As I was leaving, a few players said some pretty threatening and insulting things to me as well." Wolken characterized the atmosphere as "ugly and unbecoming and unprofessional," adding that other journalists have also noted the players' conduct.

"It was also something I've never really seen in 20-plus years of covering these situations, even in some of the most distraught and heartbroken locker rooms you can imagine," he elaborated.

"The reality is, whether people like the locker room situation or not, this is the opportunity that is given to media members to ask questions of players who are not chosen to go to a press conference.

Is there a better way to do it? Maybe, but that's not something I have control over." "I always feel like when a player is involved in the biggest play of a game, even if they are on the wrong end of it, giving them the opportunity to explain it from their point of view is the right thing to do.".

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