[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 11 (Tuesday, February 3, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H257]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




COMMISSIONER TAGLIABUE MAKES BAD CHOICE IN CHOOSING MTV FOR SUPER BOWL 
                             HALFTIME SHOW

  (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.

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