In 2003 popular sports network ESPN took a bold step by producing and airing its first dramatic television series, Playmakers. The show followed the exploits on and off the field of a fictional football team, the Cougars as they worked through the trials and tribulations that are a part of being on a professional football team as well as dealing with the every-day struggles of life.
The show was a hit and received nominations for numerous awards, wining the award for Top TV Series from the American Film Institute in 2003 and for Outstanding Drama Series in 2004 from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. It was even the inspiration for a video game, Blitz: The League.
It was viewed as a gritty, realistic look at the men and people that are involved with professional sports. You had the head coach that hid his medical troubles from the team. There was the aging running back trying to hold onto his job (and his family) and the young upstart running back from the projects with a checkered past taking it away from him. There was a gay guy that did whatever it took to hide his sexuality from the team and a womanizing quarterback.
The show really took a lot of the issues and problems that face professional football players and the people that work with and around them. Friendships and loyalties were tested (the religious leader of the team helps the running back shoot up so he can play). How the players viewed and treated women was a major issue (the trainer that helped the quarterback meet one-night-stands during the game, the running back the hits his wife). Ever issue came back to a central theme of strength, not just the physical strength that it takes to play the game, but the mental, emotional strength to deal with the present while also coming to grips with the skeletons of the past.
And then the show was abruptly cancelled by ESPN because one of their major partners (the NFL) was not happy with how the show depicted professional football players.
"Many considerations went into this decision, not the least of which was the reaction from a longtime and valued partner," said Mark Shapiro, ESPN's executive vice president of programming and production.
Early in the show’s only season the commissioner at that time, Paul Tagliabue called Michael Eisner, the CEO of Disney who owns ESPN, to express his displeasure with how the show seemed to focus on many of the negative stereo types that surround football players.
When asked about the show and its cancellation many NFL players thought it was a great idea. Ray Lewis was quoted as saying that the ‘show is nothing about us.’
The reality of the matter is that the show, which was completely fictional, was a pretty accurate depiction of what the NFL is really like.
Players due come from all walks of like, yet still have to come together to form a winning team. They don’t always like each other and many due have checkered pasts. Watching some of those that come from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds add to the unique opportunity that comes with being a professional athlete.
At the same time there are many of those that do take full advantage of the celebrity that comes with being a professional football player. The recent controversy that surrounded Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is a prime example. According to some accounts the quarterback has acted like people should feel privileged to be around him on more occasions than that fateful night in Georgia (a lot like the quarterback in the show that objectified women and used them for sex).
Even though Ray Lewis claimed the show was not about professional players, that could not be further from the truth. He served prison time for his role in a murder that occurred after a Super Bowl party he attended. One of the running backs in the show was involved in covering up a murder at a nightclub.
The recent controversy about female journalists goes to show that the way women and the way they are viewed by many players were actually right on. A number of cases come up every year concerning football players being charged with domestic violence.
In the years since the show was cancelled there has been a revolving door of NFL players committing crimes and man of them being brushed aside or minimized. Donte’ Stallworth recently served time for manslaughter. Santonio Holmes is an admitted former drug dealer. Vince Young got in a fight at a strip club. Kicker Jeff Reed actually got upset that Roethlisberger’s evaluation got more attention than his; he was arrested after trying to fight police officers who were arresting another player for public urination and intoxication. Then there is Michael Vick and his infamous dog fighting case.
If anything, the reality of the NFL is a much darker creation than the show ever depicted. Antonio Cromartie needed the New York Jets to advance him part of his salary so that he could deal with some paternity suits. Terrell Owens has yet to meet one of his kids, a three year old, because of issues he had with the mother and acted self-righteous when one of his friends told him he needed to get over his issues and meet his son. It is not uncommon for players in the NFL to have children from several different women.
Like the show, the NFL is not full of negative stereo types and problematic players. Players overcame adversity and worked to correct their personal and professional mistakes on the show much like they do in reality. However, the show was a fictional drama; if it did not focus on issues it would not have been much of a show. People want to watch controversy, not a white washed bland depiction of life.
Perhaps the show was ahead of its time. Many of the issues they depicted were not as common in the media as they are now. With that in mind, with the world loving gritty realism now maybe it is time to right a wrong and bring it back.
Then again, with the real thing being what it is the show may not be controversial enough.
No comments:
Post a Comment