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NFL: The Naked Truth
Corey Long for The Ledger

Another football promo, another malfunction. Apparently the network execs at ABC Sports admitted a second wardrobe malfunction when actress Nicollette Sheridan dropped a bath towel and showed her bare body to Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens before jumping in his arms.

Both the network and the receiver have since apologized.

"I felt like it was clean, the organization felt like it was a clean skit and I think it just really got taken out of context with a lot of people and I apologize for that," Owens said in an Associated Press story.

"Personally, I didn't think it would have offended anyone and, if it did, I apologize."

Personally, I feel like anyone offended with that skit has a brain malfunction and probably shouldn't be allowed to watch football anyway.

The most common (and weakest) argument I've heard is from the frantic dad who says he can no longer watch these games with his son.

Good. You turn away and let your son watch, because it's obvious where the maturity lies in the family. I've seen more offensive things in an episode of "Spongebob Squarepants."

Last time I checked, football is a violent sport. Where was the outrage when Joey Porter and William Green spat in each other's face and started a fistfight?

This isn't the first time this overly sensitive group of nameless people has complained about something on the air. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was recently a target for shouting an expletive in Victory Lane.

Again it was the same complaint -- there are kids watching. Right. Earnhardt, the guy who races in the Budweiser car in a league that allows advertising for beer, tobacco, body-enhancement medication and most recently hard liquor, should really be concerned with the children.

If you don't see what I'm getting at, open your eyes wider.

The NFL doesn't care about your kids. It never has. It never will. If it did, the league sponsor wouldn't be Coors (and the "twins"). NASCAR doesn't care about your kids, either. For that matter, the NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS, WNBA and WUSA don't care, either. It's not their job to teach your kids.

I'm not without some understanding. The situation at the halftime of Super Bowl XXXVIII was wrong. It was a terrible decision (for whoever was responsible) and everyone involved deserved the criticism they got.

The most unfortunate thing with that event is that it opened the door for the "sensitivity crew" to feel as if it can dictate what is and isn't offensive during a sports television event.

Soon they will demand that the NFL ban hits of any kind; only arm tackles will be allowed. NASCAR will have to stay within a 70 mph speed limit because the kids need to see responsible drivers. The NHL will ban fights and physical play because it's too violent for the kids.

You say "No way, Spud, that's not happening."

It might.

Corey Long can be reached at corey.long@theledger.com or 863-802-7556.

I think people are so up in arms because it was a rich black man and a white woman. If it were Tom Brady or Peyton Manning who were involved they wouldnt be making as big a deal about this.

I don't know why anyone is up in arms about this.. This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of! Here's a thought! How bout we take all the children under 18 years of age and stick them in a closet till they're 18 to shield them from real life! Maybe that will make these morons happy!

I am up in arms. I wish they would have shown the front instead of the back!!!!

The main audience of a football game is men aged 18-35, why shouldnt the networks cater to this age group by showing hot naked babes? We are the ones who bring in all the revenue for these stations.

mexcooker12 wrote:I think people are so up in arms because it was a rich black man and a white woman. If it were Tom Brady or Peyton Manning who were involved they wouldnt be making as big a deal about this.

The only person I've heard complain about it being a black man and a white woman is Tony Dungy.

I meant that I think people are making such a big deal about it is that underneath a lot of America sees it as a rich black man with a beautiful white woman and a lot of people although claim not to be racist still are uncomfortable with the whole interracial relationship aspect. If it was a superstar white guy this story would have been over tuesday morning.

mexcooker12 wrote:I meant that I think people are making such a big deal about it is that underneath a lot of America sees it as a rich black man with a beautiful white woman and a lot of people although claim not to be racist still are uncomfortable with the whole interracial relationship aspect. If it was a superstar white guy this story would have been over tuesday morning.

Dude, I am sorry but you are a moron. I have not heard anyone outside of Dungy even hint at this.

You think that if it was Peyton Manning they would still be talking about this? I think you need to get your head out of your sheeps ass and look at whats going on.

mexcooker12 wrote:You think that if it was Peyton Manning they would still be talking about this? I think you need to get your head out of your sheeps ass and look at whats going on.

Yes it would still be going on. The debate has been about public decency. I just heard the bell, get back to class.

That theory was brought up on at least 7 tv/radio shows in the past two days that I have seen or heard (sportscenter, pardon the interruption, around the horn, howard stern, mike and the mad dog radio show, mike and mike in the mornign radio show, and the big show on weei in new england).

That's odd. Every story I've heard and read about it is complaining about a (supposedly) naked woman in the locker room and how it's not appropriate on prime time TV. Maybe it says more about the people who do think it's racial. Even though I'm from NY I'm not a flaming liberal but I never even thought about the black/white thing.

LIPH wrote:That's odd. Every story I've heard and read about it is complaining about a (supposedly) naked woman in the locker room and how it's not appropriate on prime time TV. Maybe it says more about the people who do think it's racial. Even though I'm from NY I'm not a flaming liberal but I never even thought about the black/white thing.

your just flaming

mexcooker12 wrote:That theory was brought up on at least 7 tv/radio shows in the past two days that I have seen or heard (sportscenter, pardon the interruption, around the horn, howard stern, mike and the mad dog radio show, mike and mike in the mornign radio show, and the big show on weei in new england).

I heard this mentioned on the New England shows as well....totally stupid (about the race thing). It was Monday Night Football which doesn't even start until 9...if your kids are that young then they should be in bed any damn way. Plus, its not like they showed t and a.

LIPH wrote:That's odd. Every story I've heard and read about it is complaining about a (supposedly) naked woman in the locker room and how it's not appropriate on prime time TV. Maybe it says more about the people who do think it's racial. Even though I'm from NY I'm not a flaming liberal but I never even thought about the black/white thing.

I am from Idaho (Insert Aryan stereotype here) and race does not seem to be the issue here even. I keep hearing the argement about how appropriate the spot was.

I think a lot of people are upset because on the west coast the game started at 6pm and 7pm, times when its likely that kids would still be up watching tv.

LIPH wrote:That's odd. Every story I've heard and read about it is complaining about a (supposedly) naked woman in the locker room and how it's not appropriate on prime time TV. Maybe it says more about the people who do think it's racial. Even though I'm from NY I'm not a flaming liberal but I never even thought about the black/white thing.

well I am southern conservative and I didn't think of it as a black and white issue, as a matter of fact if it hadn't been on the news all over the place like the Janet boob incident we wouldn't even be discussing this.

Hate to get JahFin on you but this is an article by a writer for Sports Illustrated. Granted its only one mans opinion but I thought it was worth a read.

I should've known this latest Terrell Owens story wouldn't vanish quickly. It involves sex, money, sports and, most critically, race. These are topics that make for a lively debate and I doubt that T.O. has any idea what kind of Pandora's Box he jolted open when Nicollette Sheridan vaulted into his arms on Monday night. ABC and anybody else who makes money off Desperate Housewives, is still reveling in all the publicity generated from the segment.

Personally, the skit didn't bother me one bit. What the segment did do, however, was make me wonder if America was ready to see a naked, blonde, white woman with her arms wrapped around an outspoken, controversial, highly paid black man. From what I can tell from everybody's reaction, the country definitely wasn't.

Isn't that what this is really all about? Once we get past all the people complaining about how inappropriate the skit was for the Monday Night Football audience and how so many children will be scarred after being exposed to such a tawdry scene before their bedtime and all the decision-makers in the NFL who have raced away from this topic as if it were a time bomb, this is an issue that comes down to race. Aside from Tony Dungy, nobody wants to talk about that aspect of the story, because that's the really scary part. It might tell us something about ourselves, that our country hasn't come as far in the area of race relations as we'd like to believe. Even now, with so many people still talking about Owens and Sheridan, I doubt we can fully address it like it needs to be addressed.


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It's the one issue in this country that remains difficult for us to talk about. If you're black -- or any other minority -- you deal with race every day. It's a fact. If you're white, you deal with race mostly as it impacts you. It's a choice. Moments like the one that occurred on Monday night force us to come face-to-face with how we really feel about the subject and that is a good thing. In fact, I tell you what's been the most amazing moment for me since Monday night. It was a friend telling me that one of his buddies was shocked by the suggestion that all this controversy could've had anything to do with racial attitudes. As my friend's friend said, "Aren't we past the days when we have to think like that?"

No, we aren't. If you want to know how touchy the subject of black men hooking up with white women is, take a quick poll of America. There are plenty of black women who will have something to say about it. There are still plenty of interracial couples who know what it feels like to be stared at when they're out together. And there are plenty of parents, black and white, who are petrified by the thought of their sons and daughters proclaiming their love for somebody with a skin color different from their own. And when it comes to sports, there are plenty of people uncomfortable with the notion of a black man bedding a white woman.

I guarantee you that if Peyton Manning had been the man Sheridan jumped on, there wouldn't be half the controversy. If it had been Eva Longoria, the Latina co-star of Desperate Housewives, there also wouldn't be as much of an outcry. Two minorities locked in a sexual embrace isn't as shocking a thought in some of those red states. This is the same type of thinking that is all around Hollywood. When's the last time you saw Will Smith, Taye Diggs or Denzel Washington smooch a white woman? I can't recall it either because the people who make movies know they'd face the same response as ABC is dealing with now.

Everything I'm talking about here points to one central issue -- how comfortable America is with black men as sexual objects. Dungy had that part right when he talked about the Owens segment reinforcing the racial stereotype of a black sexual predator being chased by a fawning white woman. But I think it's deeper than that. Americans celebrate the black athlete and pay him huge sums of money but many people still have issues when it comes to his sex life. It's too salacious, too disturbing, just too much. But thanks to T.O., we've got an opportunity to openly talk about how we feel about it. I only wonder when we'll all realize that.


Jeffri Chadiha covers the NFL for Sports Illustrated and is a frequent contributor to SI.com.

RAGTOP wrote:

LIPH wrote:That's odd. Every story I've heard and read about it is complaining about a (supposedly) naked woman in the locker room and how it's not appropriate on prime time TV. Maybe it says more about the people who do think it's racial. Even though I'm from NY I'm not a flaming liberal but I never even thought about the black/white thing.

your just flaming

Are you trying to say you think I'm hot? How come women never tell me that?

Dang it I cant even copy and paste an article right.