WWW- The worst fears of the NFL’s network partners were realized when FCC boss Michael Powell said he is sticking his beak into this Terrell Owens/Nicollette Sheridan “Monday Night Football” controversy.
Still, it is highly doubtful this piece of video, seen on ABC leading into Eagles-Cowboys, will meet the FCC’s definition of “indecency.” So Mr. Powell, who seems to be fond of turning teapots into tempests, probably won’t be levying any monetary fines against Disney-owned ABC. That doesn’t mean the FCC won’t be keeping its eye on NFL telecasts.
The object of this game is showing you are the guardian of America’s morality. And there is no better way then keeping high-profile targets like the NFL, ABC, Fox, ESPN and CBS in your sights. After all, this “MNF” story is five days old and still going strong.
“I wonder if Walt Disney would be proud,” Powell said during a CNBC interview concerning the “MNF” tease.
Perhaps Powell isn’t aware of Walt Disney’s less than inclusive views toward blacks and Jews. Who knows how Disney would have viewed the sight of a black man and a white woman in any sort of romantic encounter?
And who knows how many of those who protested to the FCC about the “risque” nature of the Owens/Sheridan scene were really upset about the interracial aspect of it.
Some media types have tried dismissing this notion.
They live in a fantasy world.
Wally Matthews, on ESPN-1050’s “Wally and the Keeg” show, was real-dealing. On Wednesday, Matthews wondered how anyone could be upset over “a silly thing like this (the Owens/Sheridan) tango” when television is filled – 24 hours a day – with programming containing sexual content.
“What’s the big deal?” Matthews asked. “Well if the big darn deal is that it’s a mixed racial couple, then please explain to me how, in the year 2004, this can still be an issue?”
Then, Matthews opened the phones. A few minutes later he got his answer. A caller – “Paul” – said if he “went down a street” looking to buy a house “and every family” on the street was “black” he wouldn’t buy a house in that neighborhood.
“And I don’t agree that a white girl should be going with this black man,” Paul said. “It (the Owens/Sheridan spot) does offend me because it’s promoting my daughter going out with someone from another race.”
How many people voicing moral outrage at the “MNF” opening did so because of its color, not its content?
Can Mr. Powell answer that question?
Can any of the high-profile football writers, who freaked over Owens letting “a naked woman jump in his arms on national TV,” answer that question?
Can Paul Tagliabue answer the question?
Probably not. All the commissioner can hope is this whole situation blows over soon. That won’t happen. Especially with the FCC involved. Yes, this “MNF” episode is embarrassing for the league, but it will not change the way the NFL does business.
NFL owners, like most of their peers in other sports, are a disingenuous lot. Take Eagles boss Jeffrey Lurie. When asked what he thought about ABC’s steamy “MNF” lead-in, Lurie told the Burlington County (Pa.) Times, “I loved it” and “I thought it was great.”
And yet, early in the 2003 season, when he perceived Disney-owned ESPN’s “Playmakers” as a negative portrayal of the NFL, Lurie said: “Disney’s brand is Mickey Mouse and the Magic Kingdom. How would they like it if Minnie Mouse was portrayed as Pablo Escobar and the Magic Kingdom as a drug cartel?”
With this uncanny ability to talk out of both sides of his mouth, depending on what serves his own self-interests, Lurie is following a blueprint set by his fellow owners.
In their world, talk is cheap.
The shadow of Powell’s FCC may haunt the NFL’s network partners, but will be no sweat off Tagliabue’s back.
Neither will be any racist backlash from some NFL fans.
For Tagliabue’s league, where they play for pay, only one color matters.
Green.