But beating your wife and getting pulled over with cocaine and covering up for a murder are far worse then a player being gay. Or is it?
I could go on to the other more fleshed out characters in this soap. There are many other situations being discussed in Playmakers. But I think the gay issue is paramount, and it has been building the last 4 or so episodes to tonight's well written climax.
The NFL and the AWSM (Association for Women in Sports Media) need to chill. This is a drama. It is entertainment. I also happens that they are tackling some rather real world situations.
This show being on ESPN does not hurt either. I am waiting to see Boomer though. Using personalities like Jim Rome ("Rome is Burning"), Thea Andrews ("Cold Pizza") and the ESPN brand is the glue that makes this show stick. Next episode has Snoop Dogg in it. Now who is going to watch Playmakers next Tuesday? I am. ESPN, just like any other broadcasting company, is out to make money. It just happens that ESPN is the one and only station that has the resources from the sports news world to make a sports drama work.
Lighten up, don't get your jock straps in a bunch. Playmakers is not the first show to not accurately depict sports. If it did, it would not be entertaining and it would not sell. But tell me something: Do you tune into more fictional or non fictional TV and movies?
I went Googling:
Popular 'Playmakers' hasn't won over NFL
'Playmakers' under fire
Women's sports media group protests `Playmakers'
Message to the NFL: lighten up!
Originally posted on Breaking Windows.
Article comments
1 - Alex
Given the close relationship between ESPN and the NFL, I'm surprised this show ever made it close to air. Was the NFL asleep as the hundreds of promos that let us know Playmakers would be a nonstop parade of the worst aspects of professional sports, all compacted into one football season?
Given that sports media (and ESPN in particular) is based primarily on kissing ass and not rocking the boat, I would not be surprised to see ESPN completely buckle here. Hell, they buckled on Limbaugh and Easterbrook (even before any sort of protest with TMQ) and they stood to lose nothing there. With ABC/ESPN currently carrying the (I'm assuming) very lucrative Monday & Sunday night NFL games, Tagliabue potentially has a mighty large stick at his disposal. Does anyone know how long the current contract is between the NFL & ABC?
2 - TDavid
This show has gotten a lot of buzz, I'm going to have to catch it if it comes out on DVD, if not TiVoing it sooner.
Is it just me or has TV content gotten better the last couple years? There was a period of time when I didn't watch TV at all, but I'm starting to come back now for a couple shows (mostly on Fox).
3 - Alex
I think it's you. I can't believe people watch most of the stuff on broadcast TV. I still end up watching too much TV in general, but it's all news, sports and adult themed cartoons (Simpsons, South Park, etc.). The only weekly shows I've been hooked into are a couple of the HBO series (Sopranos, Carnivale).