January 4th, 2010 at 10:19 AM

Child Abuse Activists Urge NFL to Drop The Who from Super Bowl Halftime Show

thewhoRemember back when the NFL’s Super Bowl halftime show choice leaked, and we found out that The Who would be performing? Now, recall that, at the time, we assumed that the latest cadre of celebrated old white dudes to take the NFL stage would be a patently controversy-free choice? Well, we may have been wrong. Over the weekend, we learned that some people are downright outraged about the football league’s endorsement of the band. And those people are… anti-child abuse activists?

Here’s the back story: Apparently, the folks from ChildAbuseWatch.net have been in touch with the South Florida Sun Sentinel newspaper to remind the NFL that Pete Townshend was arrested in 2003 on child pornography charges. Authorities found that the frontman had accessed an illegal site in 1999, but he was let off with a warning (and a couple years on the sex offenders registry) after claiming he had been doing research for his autobiography. But ChildAbuseWatch.net still isn’t buying it. “The Who is a great band. Pete Townshend is the only issue here,” said Evin Daly, the organization’s founder and CEO.

Still, it seems the NFL won’t let the activists’ objections stand in the way of their halftime show. In a response to Daly, a spokesman for the league noted that Townshend had been cleared of the charges and emphasized the singer’s involvement in charity work. Insert witty kicker about Janet Jackson’s most assuredly not-underage nipples here.

By Judy Berman

Filed under Featured Posts, News

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Comments

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  1. January 4th, 2010 at 3:32 PM { # }

    FatAmanda said:

    Check the facts: Townshend was cleared of the first charge, that of possession. However, he admitted guilt to the “inciting another to distribute”, and in doing so received a formal police “caution” (adjudication withheld). With that caution came mandatory DNA and fingerprint recording and a 5 year registration as a sex offender.

    The dude’s a sex offender and shouldn’t be here.

  2. January 4th, 2010 at 8:42 PM { # }

    steve said:

    shut up…. the who=the greatest band of all time…..so there it is, just be quiet….whats gonna happen if he plays? jesus, let him be

  3. January 5th, 2010 at 9:36 AM { # }

    Trish Pottersmith said:

    “After four months of investigation by officers from Scotland Yard’s child protection group, it was established that Mr Townshend was not in possession of any downloaded child abuse images. He has fully co-operated with the investigation.”

    -Scotland Yard statement

    More facts are available here: http://www.petetownshendisinnocent

  4. January 5th, 2010 at 9:54 AM { # }

    Legally Kidnapped said:

    The Who is a great band and Pete Townsend was vindicated. This is just another case of self-righteous hypocrites blowing the child abuse issue out of proportion like they always do.

  5. January 10th, 2010 at 8:20 AM { # }

    fast eddie said:

    Townshend was placed on the UK Sex Registry not because he looked at pictures on the net, but because he poses a danger to children. He would have us believe that the only time he did this, happens to be the time he got caught. People go to those sites because they are sexually attracted to kids..

September 9th, 2010 at 11:45 AM