NFL Ignites Protest With Selection of The Who For Super Bowl Show
— December 28, 2009 7 86Here in the United States the Super Bowl is big. Really big. Dedicated football fans anxiously await the final showdown of the season all year, and even some people who do not normally watch football find themselves in front of a television for the what is usually the most-watched sporting event of the year.
In addition to being a huge draw for sports fans, the Super Bowl also attracts attention by selecting big-name entertainers to perform during game’s half-time break. Sometimes the events that unfold during half-time even eclipse the game itself. Who does not recall the infamous “wardrobe malfunction” from 2004 when Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake entertained the Super Bowl audience? In contrast, who recalls what teams were facing off for that game?
Yes, many football fans will likely have the answer at the ready, but I sure as heck couldn’t tell you unless I looked it up. In case you were wondering it was the New England Patriots and the Carolina Panthers.
With the Super Bowl a little over a month away, controversy has already reared its head. With classic rock group The Who lined up to perform during half-time, some child protection groups are protesting the selection due to an incident from 2003 when the group’s guitarist, Pete Townshend, was caught up in a child pornography scandal.
Townshend was investigated by law enforcement officials in the U.K. after accessing a website that was said to have some connection with child pornography. Townsend claimed it was done solely for research on his book project. The book, entitled A Different Bomb was never published.
Townshend says the book was based on an anti-child pornography essay he posted on his personal website during 2002.
After a four-month investigation, authorities concluded that there was no evidence that Townshend had been in possession of any material relating to child pornography, and it was decided that he should be issued a “caution” instead of facing prosecution. Even so, Townshend was included on the U.K.’s Violent and Sex Offender Register for five years.
A later independent investigation added credibility to Townshend’s version of events, even suggesting that he confessed to something he did not do because of pressure from the publicity that resulted.
Even though there is much doubt surrounding Townshend’s guilt, the National Football League has heard from child advocacy groups like “Child AbuseWatch,” who are pressuring the league to cancel The Who’s scheduled performance.
Another group, “Protect Our Children” has asked federal immigration officials to prevent Townshend from entering the country. The group also stated that the NFL’s choice to invite Townshend to perform was a “a slap in the face to victims of child sexual abuse,” and warned the league that it risked a “breathtakingly ugly” public backlash if the performance goes on as scheduled.
This situation is likely to draw more attention, and kick up more of a ruckus until the NFL decides on a course of action. It will be interesting to see how they ultimately react to a series of events which they clearly didn’t expect. I can’t help wondering if there are one or two lower echelon NFL office staffers muttering “I told you so” under their breath.
For more on this unfolding controversy, check out the Times Online.
7 Comments
These people are the ones with the sicko agenda to promote. The man was found by the authorities to be innocent of ever seeking child pornography and yet he has to suffer again for the implication. Why don’t these people look at what The Who have done for The Teenage Cancer trust Charity before they judge Townsend unfairly. They make me sick!!!
Evin Daly – the one that is going after Pete – wrote this really creepy article about sex that everyone should read.
http://www.content4reprint.com/women-s-issues/men-sex-n-porn.htm
READ THE TRUE FACTS; NOT SOME IDIOTS “OPINION” OF THEM.
The full facts of the case are available at Child AbuseWatch. Child AbuseWatch protested his Kennedy Center award and has repeatedly asked the INS why he was given a visa to enter the U.S.
http://www.abusewatch.net/CAN_NFL_Townshend.php
Townshend admitted to and pleaded guilty to the crime of accessing and paying for viewing child pornography online and received a ‘caution’ (guilty plea with adjudication withheld) from the police and avoided a formal trial. He was never cleared of any charges and remained on the sex offender list from 2003 to 2008.
Check out the quick facts of the case here: http://www.abusewatch.net/CAN_Townshend_media_facts.php
It’s not entirely clear whom you are referring to as an “IDIOT,” Leah, but if you are going to come here and start name-calling, at least make it clear who you are directing your rage at.
I guess my only question is what any of Pete Townsend’s decisions in 2003 have to do with playing a Super Bowl Half Time Show? I don’t even want to hear about “being a role model for the kids watching” because clearly Tom Petty, The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Springsteen, Prince, and Paul McCartney, were all just quaint little angels of upstanding citizenship over the years.
He may or may not have done something, okay. But, he did the time and is in the clear. Why does this prevent him from playing music to an audience again?
Call it what you will. He accessed a child porn site one time. For whatever reason only he knows? He also received a lot more than a slap on the wrist for doing so. He wasn’t engaging in any acts with children and when the police checked his 14 computers they found no images AT ALL!!! All these people want is to see others suffer till death for there mistakes. I guess all of them are just too perfect and have never done anything wrong in life ever? And the reason he wasn’t found innocent was because he admitted it. Isn’t the indignity he has to live through every day for what he did enough? Weather these people like it or not that type of sickness is all over the net. And Townsend was right that maybe some people aren’t strong enough to steer clear of it? He did his time for his crime and he’s been rehabilitated and castrated for it. LEAVE PETE TOWNSHEND ALONE NOW!!!
I just thought I’d add this link. Pete and Roger Kennedy center Honors.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfajpTWQmyQ