The 'Thursday Night Football' pregame show was supposed to feature a comedy bit with RiRi's 'Run This Town' in the background, but it instead opens with a speech about domestic violence.
- September 12, 2014
AceShowbiz -
CBS Sports made changes to "Thursday Night Football" pregame show in the wake of Ray Rice's alleged domestic violence issue. The network scrapped its plan to play a funny bit featuring Don Cheadle providing voiceover to Rihanna's "Run This Town" as the intro to the Thursday, September 11 broadcast. The Bajan singer herself was a victim of domestic violence by her then boyfriend Chris Brown.
Instead, the pregame show opened with a coverage of the controversy with "CBS This Morning" anchor Norah O'Donnell providing updates on the Ray Rice situation. Host James Brown additionally addressed the issue in a powerful speech that raised awareness on domestic violence.
"Now, let's be clear, this problem is bigger than football," Brown said. "There has been, appropriately so, intense and widespread outrage following the release of the video showing what happened in the elevator at the casino. Now, wouldn't it be productive, if this collective outrage could be channeled to truly hear and address the long-suffering cries for help from so many women and, as they said, do something about it."
He stressed the importance of "an ongoing, comprehensive education of men of what healthy, manhood," before adding, "Our language is important. When a guy says 'you throw the ball like a girl' or 'You're a sissy,' it reflects an attitude that devalues women." He concluded his monologue, "This is yet another call for men to stand up to take responsibly for their thoughts, their words, their deeds... Our silence is deafening and deadly."
Ray Rice has been cut by his team The Baltimore Ravens and suspended indefinitely by NFL after a video of him attacking his now-wife Janay Palmer in an elevator made its way out online. The NFL previously suspended Rice for two games when the charges of domestic abuse first surfaced in July which was deemed too lenient by some people. It has been questioned whether the NFL had seen the video before it landed on Internet.
Here's a quick transcript of James Brown on Thursday Night Football. #NFL #Football @bruce_arthur pic.twitter.com/fEBQyu0pAp
— Matthew Henderson (@mhenderson95) September 12, 2014
