NCAA Pulls Focus on the Family Ads

by Michael Jones · 2010-02-24 09:00:00 UTC
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Looks like the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is putting their advertising where their mission statement is. Yesterday the NCAA caught holy hell for featuring advertisements on their Web site (ncaa.com) from Focus on the Family. When Focus on the Family isn't blabbing about the evils of gay marriage, they're fighting hard to prevent gay and lesbian parents from adopting, or trying to tell women that they have no reproductive rights, or suggesting that sex education robs girls of their innocence.

Turns out the NCAA doesn't really want to be hawking that type of message. In a statement sent out by a spokesperson, the NCAA said that they've pulled the Focus ads after many, many folks expressed disgust.

"Focus on the Family did have a banner ad on NCAA.com. Today, it was decided to remove the ad from the website as a result of concerns expressed by our membership," said Williams.

And though I'm sure it was just fate, the random pop-up ad that just came up on ncaa.com when I checked the Web site was for Axe Body Spray, which runs some of the most homo-erotic commercials in the business. Et Tu, Focus?

Kudos really go out here to Pat Griffin's LGBT Sports Blog. Pat brought the house down on this story, and really urged the NCAA to toe a line consistent with their mission statement, which respects diversity and the dignity of all athletes. Here at Change.org, more than 250 folks sent emails to the NCAA urging them to take down these ads. The Focus ads may have been cute and cuddly and fuzzy on the surface, but the organization still maintains a radically anti-gay platform.

In recent years the organization has chosen to spend millions of dollars working to take away marriage rights for gays and lesbians in places like California and Maine, all the while laying off staff. Sound like family values to you?

Meanwhile, as Pat Griffin writes this morning, the issue now goes far beyond the NCAA. They were called out, they acted fast, and they should be commended. But guess who has a hand in making these Focus ads a reality in the first place?

CBS. Yup, the network that brought you the Super Bowl commercial from Focus on the Family has reportedly signed a package deal with Focus on the Family. In addition to the Super Bowl ad, there's rumors that Focus will be running ads during the upcoming telecast of "March Madness" on CBS. So if you like your college basketball with a side of anti-gay politics, you might get your wish.

Photo credit: bp6316

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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