OK, so ABC, the NFL, and the Philadelphia Eagles have all apologized for the airing of a "sexually suggestive segment using Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens and several stars of 'Desperate Housewives' to introduce" Monday Night Football.
I understand that the media feel as if they are walking on egg shells lately because of recent indecency fines levied against them by the FCC. Fines which include the ridiculous $1.2m fine against Fox for "sexually suggestive" content in its "Married by America." The fine resulted from 90 complaints registered with the FCC from only 23 individuals. Moreover, it appears that
"all but two of [the letters] were virtually identical. In other words, one person took the time to write a letter and 20 other people then photocopied or merely emailed it to the FCC many times." via BuzzMachine
Apparently, to the FCC, three unique complaints qualify as violating the "contemporary community standards" for offensive content. Not that I would ever defend the merits or quality of a reality show, much less one produced by Fox.
But I digress getting to the irony. The Washington Post quotes Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney as saying, "It was the most disgraceful thing I've ever seen." Now forget the current state of the world--aid workers kidnapped and murdered in Iraq, US soldiers apparently executing injured insurgents, the Simpson sisters each having careers--if this is the ""most disgraceful thing" Mr. Rooney has ever seen, perhaps he should take a look at footage of his team and the Cleveland Browns before their Sunday game. Players from both teams spit on and shouted obscenities at each other, finally exchanging blows, all taped and broadcast across the nation.
Posted by cs at November 17, 2004 11:17 AM