Commissioner Tagliabue Makes Bad Choice in Choosing MTV for Super Bowl Halftime Show

COMMISSIONER TAGLIABUE MAKES BAD CHOICE IN CHOOSING MTV FOR SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOW -- (House of Representatives - February 03, 2004)

(Mr. WELDON of Florida asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. WELDON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I know many of my constituents will be very pleased with this resolution coming before the House today regarding the Columbia disaster, but this issue has not been the one that my phones have been ringing about. I have heard from many of my constituents who are outraged over the offenses that they were exposed to in the NFL halftime show and many of the commercials.

The NFL has promoted football, and the Super Bowl in particular, as a time for families to gather around the television once a year to see the NFL's best and, indeed, I was doing that myself. I had my 5-year-old son and my teenage daughter. Rather than being one of the NFL's finest hours, it was one of their most offensive.

NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue issued a statement following the game calling the halftime show offensive, inappropriate, and embarrassing to the NFL.

Commissioner Tagliabue, when you hired one of the most offensive networks, MTV, to do the halftime show, what did you expect? MTV does not produce programming for family audiences. Indeed, my wife and I recognized that the halftime
show was going to be offensive, and we changed the channel for 30 minutes.

Commissioner Tagliabue, wake up.