Parents Org Calls for NFL, NBA to Stop Ads for Violent Video Games
Common Sense Media, an advocacy org for parents and media content, is calling on the NBA and NFL to stop featuring advertising for violent videogames during event telecasts.
James Steyer, CEO and founder of Common Sense Media, sent letters to NBA commissioner David Stern and NFL commisioner Roger Goodell, calling for a moratorium on such games.
"We believe that you make many decisions to protect the image of the league, but that you are badly failing your fans in a critical area: the way the league perpetuates a culture of violence by allowing advertisers to air inappropriate ads for ultraviolent and sexually violent video games during NFL programming," Steyer wrote in his letter to Goodell. "In light of the recent tragedy in Newtown, Conn., we are asking you to enact a moratorium on ads for ultraviolent or sexually violent video games during your programming for the rest of the season."
He added, "We understand that many of your fans may be video game enthusiasts, but we also understand that many of your fans are 6 or 7 years old, including at least one of the victims of last week’s tragedy. Violent video games – and the ads that promote them – are simply inappropriate for young kids, and the NFL should take a stand by removing these ads from games when families and kids are watching, especially at such a sensitive time in our country’s mindset."
Letters also went out to the heads of all of the networks that air games, including NBC, FOX, CBS, TBS, and ESPN.
The issue of marketing of violent videogames gained prominence when David Axelrod, senior adviser to President Obama's reelection campaign, sent out a Tweet on Sunday complaining of one of the spots during NFL coverage.
"In NFL post-game: an ad for shoot 'em up video game. All for curbing weapons of war. But shouldn't we also quit marketing murder as a game?" Axelrod said.
The full text of the letter from Common Sense Media is below:
National Football League
80 Park Ave. 15th Floor
New York, NY 10017
December 19, 2012
Dear Commissioner Goodell,
Last year, the NFL signed a record-setting television deal with Fox, NBC, and CBS that is worth nearly $28 billion for your league, and it is a major reason why the NFL is so successful today. One of the additional key factors for that success is that networks are able to sell billions of dollars worth of advertising to companies that want to reach NFL enthusiasts, including millions of kids.
The NFL has the most talented football players in the world and you do a tremendous job of marketing them to families. Kids grow up wearing the jerseys of their favorite players, and the league goes out of its way to promote itself in communities around the country.
As much as everyone loves the game, we all know the NFL is a business – and your ultimate goal is to maximize revenues for your owners. That said, the NFL has a responsibility to make appropriate choices and decisions for the fans. That is why you fine and suspend players for fighting, violating the league’s drug policy, and using inappropriate language with fans.
We are contacting you today on behalf of American families and as the leading kids and media nonprofit organization in the United States. We believe that you make many decisions to protect the image of the league, but that you are badly failing your fans in a critical area: the way the league perpetuates a culture of violence by allowing advertisers to air inappropriate ads for ultraviolent and sexually violent video games during NFL programming. In light of the recent tragedy in Newtown, Conn., we are asking you to enact a moratorium on ads for ultraviolent or sexually violent video games during your programming for the rest of the season.
We understand that many of your fans may be video game enthusiasts, but we also understand that many of your fans are 6 or 7 years old, including at least one of the victims of last week’s tragedy. Violent video games – and the ads that promote them – are simply inappropriate for young kids, and the NFL should take a stand by removing these ads from games when families and kids are watching, especially at such a sensitive time in our country’s mindset.
The NFL is not the Federal Communications Commission and you have no legal obligation to regulate the kind of ads that are aired on all of television. But you do have a tremendous platform and the ability to set an example for other leading businesses in this country by standing up against the culture of violence in America.
The NFL knows that its young fans model behavior after their role models like Tom Brady, Victor Cruz, and Peyton Manning. Well, they also model their behavior on what they see on television, and that includes the commercials during NFL games.
With the holidays right around the corner, and two weeks left of the NFL’s regular season, we are calling for you to stand up for parents and announce an immediate moratorium of ads for ultraviolent and sexually violent video games during NFL games. On behalf of the millions of parents that turn to Common Sense Media for help managing the media in their kids’ lives, we strongly urge you to show us that the NFL truly does care.
Sincerely yours,
James P. Steyer
Founder and CEO
Common Sense Media
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