Not even basketball is immune from feelings these days. There’s an entire discussion to be had about the wussification of sports, but we’ll save that for another time.
According to CNN, the following video was played during a time out at Wednesday’s game against the Chicago Bulls. A poorly produced spoof of “Dirty Dancing,” the video certainly elicited a reaction. Though probably not the one producers were going for.
Remember this scene?
Right before attempting the iconic “Dirty Dancing” lift, the gal in the video removes her apron revealing a Chicago Bulls t-shirt. Rather than catching and lifting his girlfriend, the guy tosses her to the side and says, “Bulls fan?! I didn’t know you were a Bulls fan!”
Take a look:
To some, the video made light of domestic violence. After the Twitter outrage brigade launched a full frontal assault, the Cavs apologized yesterday saying:
“We ran a 1-minute in-arena video that was intended to be a humorous spoof on a popular commercial centered on a song and dance from the classic movie ‘Dirty Dancing.’ While the video was not intended to be offensive, it was a mistake to include content that made light of domestic violence. Domestic violence is a very serious matter and has no place in a parody video that plays in an entertainment venue. We sincerely apologize to those who have been affected by domestic violence for the obvious negative feelings caused by being exposed to this insensitive video.”
ESPN discussed the hubbub in a surprisingly weighted manner:
After watching the video, my takeaway was that it was cheesy, kind of lame, and poorly produced. If there was anything offensive, it didn’t register with me. Granted, I am from the land of sports rivalries — the great, magnificent even, Republic of Texas. Down here, we take team loyalty pretty darn seriously.
Being an Aggie, if my man suddenly lost his everlovin’ mind and decided to wear a Longhorn t-shirt, he wouldn’t be stepping across the threshold until he’d removed, shredded, and burned the blasphemous garb. The shredding might be overkill, but you get the point.
All of that to say, I’m not so sure a lamely executed movie spoof constitutes “making light of domestic violence.” But then I’m (thankfully) not a victim of physical abuse so I’m not sure what might aggravate that trauma.
What about you, what do you think? Is the negative reaction justified, were the Cavs really being insensitive towards victims of domestic violence? Or is this simply the politically correct outrage brigade making a stink over nothing?
What say you?
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