LeBron James said some curse words during a speech at the Cleveland Cavaliers championship parade celebration. The event was broadcast live, so the heightened versions of words like butthole, poop and frick were heard by the million or so people watching at home.
According to a Cleveland.com story, these bad words resulted in two complaints to the FCC.
The complaints against WKYC and WOIO came July 22, the same day of the parade, from a viewer in Cuyahoga Falls and another in Louisville. The players’ speeches were broadcast live without a five-second delay and the profane language broadcast over the air.
The FCC says it considers the F-word and other words like it to be profane, but it also says that context is key in determining if a violation occurred.
That’s sort of neat. The context of your early afternoon F-bomb could mean it is fine to say. It’s odd that you’re not allowed to swear between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., but the USA Network can run Law & Order: SVU, a show about rape and murder, all day long every day.
But what were the complaints?
The Louisville viewer wrote to the FCC and said:
“The station allowed Lebron James to repeatedly use profanity on live TV… Thousands and thousands of families were watching the broadcast. Countless children listened to him talk like a drunken sailor. This is completely irresponsible of the network to allow this kind of language on live TV!”
As someone who has met many sailors at bars, some of whom have been intoxicated during Fleet Week, this offends me. What, all sailors are drunks? Are you saying that a sailor can’t enjoy a few alcoholic beverages and still be a fine upstanding citizen? Why don’t you support our military, Louisville person?
The other complaint was about the language and kids watching and blah blah blah. Perhaps the person complaining about adults using adult language is the one that needs to grow up. Think about it.
