ABC's Promo on Monday Night Football Fogs Up TV Screens, Steams Up Viewers
by Jody Brown and Rusty Pugh
November 19, 2004
(AgapePress) - A pro-family activist says a major network's so-called "apology" for airing inappropriate material at a time when a peak number of families were watching is hollow and insincere.At issue is a two-minute promotional piece aired earlier this week on ABC introducing the NFL's Monday night game. That steamy lead-in featured Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens, a high-profile athlete who has a history as a lightning rod for controversy, and actress Nicollette Sheridan, a regular on ABC's Sunday night drama Desperate Housewives.
The scene takes place in the Eagle's locker room, presumably just before a game -- and Owens is confronted by Sheridan, who is wearing nothing but a towel. The two are alone. As she drops the towel and rushes into her arms, he succumbs to her seductive invitation to forget about the game and remain in the locker room with her. Sheridan is pictured from the back, nude from the waist up.
While the content of the segment may not have crossed the line of decency, as defined by the Federal Communications Commission, the timing of it has resulted in some cross parents and pro-family groups. News reports say the promo for the ABC Sunday night prime-time program has generated complaints to the network, the FCC, the National Football League, and the Philadelphia Eagles organization.
One of groups registering concern is the American Family Association. AFA is upset not only because of the sexual situation portrayed by Owens and Sheridan, but also that it was shown when millions of families were settling into their living rooms, waiting for a football game to begin. ABC has since apologized -- as have both the NFL and the Eagles organization -- but AFA's Randy Sharp was not impressed.
Randy Sharp | |
"What ABC said was that it was the right material [but] it was just the wrong time to put it on," Sharp says. "They weren't apologizing for offending us, they were simply apologizing for putting it on Monday Night Football."Sharp contends the apology had nothing to do with the content. "Had it been on some other time, we'd have never seen an apology," he says. "But this goes back to the mentality of ABC -- they want to be shocking, they want to be crude, they want to offend our families."
Sharp does give credit to NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabu for coming out quickly to condemn the ad. League spokesman Greg Aiello described it as "inappropriate and unsuitable" for the Monday night audience. "While ABC may have gained attention for one of its other shows," he said, "the NFL and its fans lost." ABC Sports also issued an apology, acknowledging its promo was "inappropriate."
But Sharp believes it never should have been aired in the first place. ABC may feel the same way should the FCC enter the picture. During an interview on CNBC, FCC chairman Michael Powell noted the agency regularly receives complaints from broadcasters about indecency enforcement. But in discussing the Owens-Sheridan spot, he questioned the networks' sincerity.
"They seem to be continuing to be willing to keep the issue at the forefront, keep it hot and steamy in order to get financial gains and the free advertising it provides," Powell said.
'A Fun Skit'
According to an article on the Eagles' website, Owens' involvement in the spot had been endorsed by the team. In fact, says the story, a member of the club's organization was present the whole time taping was taking place. It was only after the firestorm of controversy erupted that the Eagles did an about-face.
"We appreciate that ABC has taken responsibility and has apologized for the opening to Monday Night Football," says an Eagles statement. "It is normal for teams to cooperate with ABC in the development of an opening for its broadcast. But after seeing the final piece, we wish it hadn't aired."
Owens tells Associated Press that while he personally did not think the promo would have offended anyone, he apologizes if it did. "I felt like it was clean, the organization felt like it was a clean skit, and I think it just got taken out of context," he stated. "I thought it was a fun skit and that was it."
According to the AP report, Owens seemed to believe the controversy surrounding the "skit" was more the result of his involvement, not because of the content. "Anything I get involved with, I'm obviously a target," the flashy wide receiver said.
He also told The News Journal in Delaware that he saw no difference in what the promo depicted and what appears in shows such as South Park or King of the Hill -- two television cartoons geared toward adult audiences.
