• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

NFL demands $16.6 million from M.I.A. for flipping the bird in 2012

Status
Not open for further replies.
F

Fudgepuppy

Banned
As The Hollywood Reporter revealed last September, the NFL has been secretly pursuing M.I.A. in arbitration in the aftermath of Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5, 2012. During the event, watched by nearly 167 million TV households, the Sri Lankan singer-rapper extended her middle finger during a performance of "Give Me All Your Luvin' "

M.I.A. wasn't paid for the event as is the custom of the league. But nevertheless, the NFL spent the first two years of arbitration demanding $1.5 million for allegedly breaching her performance contract and tarnishing its goodwill and reputation.

Now the NFL has added an additional claim, seeking $15.1 million more in "restitution" as the alleged value of public exposure she received by appearing for an approximately two minute segment during Madonna's performance. The figure is based on what advertisers would have paid for ads during this time. "The claim for restitution lacks any basis in law, fact, or logic," say M.I.A.'s response papers, filed on Friday.

The music superstar tells the arbitrator that the "continued pursuit of this proceeding is transparently an exercise by the NFL intended solely to bully and make an example of Respondents for daring to challenge NFL."

As we previously reported, Howard King, the attorney for M.I.A., has been attempting to undercut the NFL's argument that its reputation has been damaged by soliciting information from the public on what he says is the NFL's lack of wholesomeness. He has even set up an e-mail address -- NFL@khpblaw.com -- intended to "balance the playing field."

The latest arbitration papers for M.I.A. go into the "profane, bawdy, lascivious, demeaning and/or unacceptable behavior by its players, team owners, coaching and management personnel and by performers chosen and endorsed by NFL to perform in its halftime shows."

---

Even Madonna at the 2012 Super Bowl is mentioned:

"The Show prominently features scenes of very young women dancers (possibly not even of adult age) poised in reclining positions, with their feet and hands and/or shoulders planted on the ground behind them. The women lewdly thrust their elevated pelvic areas in a manner unmistakably evocative of sexual acts (very probably qualifying as 'indecent' under the FCC definition), or at the very least, in a manner wholly consistent with the scenes a faire in a strip club."

---

The singer says there can't be liability or damage based on speculative FCC action, and her legal papers say it is "implausible" that any indecency fine will come after years of regulatory inaction and recent decisions at the U.S. Supreme Court.

What's more, the responsibility of broadcaster NBC could be investigated as the arbitration continues forward.

"NFL, and NBC, failed to exercise ordinary care in the conduct of the Halftime show by not activating the '5 second delay' system in place for the broadcast," says M.I.A.'s papers. "Any alleged fault or liability of Respondents should be diminished by NBC's dereliction. Discovery has not been taken yet to determine whether contractually NBC owed a duty to NFL to properly operate the delay system. Very likely that is indeed the case."
Click to expand...

NFL Now Demands $16.6 Million Over M.I.A.'s Super Bowl Middle Finger

Pushing the boundaries has sort of become a staple of the half-time shows, so why is this worse than when Janet Jackson flashed her boob?
 
C

Camp Lo

Banned
MIA_a_p.jpg
Click to expand...

16.6M for that?
 
H

HerbertFish

Member
Get her nfl. She had no business being there to begin with then tries stealing the spotlight with stupid antics because god knows she couldn't do it with talent.
 
M

Matt_

World's #1 One Direction Fan: Everyone else in the room can see it, everyone else but you~~~
NFL are being fucking ridiculous.
 
E

endresults

Member
The NFL is in its own little world, isn't it...

They're way too wrapped up in making the perfect product for ages 6 and up like NASCAR does but it's not ever gonna happen. Instead we get finger-wagging over trivial shit like nipples and middle fingers and players celebrating too much or cussing with the wrong words while they stuff beer and boner ads through the screen every 12 minutes.
 
Northeastmonk

Northeastmonk

Gold Member
It's a family venue. They also air to millions and millions of family audiences. What if little old Jimmy or Sara watches it and starts flipping off the family dog or neighbors next door? Profanity and symbols like that are not acceptable in the public's eye.

Does GAF want to hear profanity or see the middle finger being raised around their kids?
 
PJV3

PJV3

Member
Not a finger :(
I thought nipples were bad enough, is there any body part a celeb won't flaunt.
 
P

Paskil

Member
What a fucking joke. The NFL loves shit like this because it means that more people tune in to see what these performers might do during the halftime show, which means a larger charging fee for advertising slots (of which I'm sure the NFL gets a cut).

What a bunch of scumbags. Isn't this why a broadcast delay exists? It's especially ridiculous since the FCC took no action against her or the NFL for her actions.

tarius1210 said:
Honestly, who actually remembers this?

So stupid.
Click to expand...

Also this. I don't remember this even happening. I like MIA and I never even heard she was performing (although I don't pay much attention to the NFL, to be fair).
 
F

Futureman

Member
Northeastmonk said:
It's a family venue. They also air to millions and millions of family audiences. What if little old Jimmy or Sara watches it and starts flipping off the family dog or neighbors next door? Profanity and symbols like that are not acceptable in the public's eye.

Does GAF want to hear profanity or see the middle finger being raised around their kids?
Click to expand...

then tell her she'll never be invited back to something similar ever again.

Fining her $16 million is insane. I mean look above at a player doing the same exact thing. How much was that guy fined?
 
M

mernst23

Member
Futureman said:
then tell her she'll never be invited back to something similar ever again.

Fining her $16 million is insane. I mean look above at a player doing the same exact thing. How much was that guy fined?
Click to expand...

10k, and he actually works for the company. I know when I think of the nfl, I think of m.I.a.

I guess they gotta fund all those cte settlements about to fall on their lap somehow
 
P

POWERSPHERE

Member
Northeastmonk said:
It's a family venue. They also air to millions and millions of family audiences. What if little old Jimmy or Sara watches it and starts flipping off the family dog or neighbors next door? Profanity and symbols like that are not acceptable in the public's eye.

Does GAF want to hear profanity or see the middle finger being raised around their kids?
Click to expand...

Lol
 
P

pompidu

Member
Northeastmonk said:
It's a family venue. They also air to millions and millions of family audiences. What if little old Jimmy or Sara watches it and starts flipping off the family dog or neighbors next door? Profanity and symbols like that are not acceptable in the public's eye.

Does GAF want to hear profanity or see the middle finger being raised around their kids?
Click to expand...

sarcasm? nfls biggest sponsors are alcoholic drinks, all over the tv. radio. signs. that family friendly?
 
D

docbon

Member
PJV3 said:
Not a finger :(
I thought nipples were bad enough, is there any body part a celeb won't flaunt.
Click to expand...

I turned my television off in disgust upon witnessing the erection of her middle digit. They made the right call in their effort to maintain a family friendly atmosphere.
 
Davey Cakes

Davey Cakes

Member
Northeastmonk said:
It's a family venue. They also air to millions and millions of family audiences. What if little old Jimmy or Sara watches it and starts flipping off the family dog or neighbors next door? Profanity and symbols like that are not acceptable in the public's eye.

Does GAF want to hear profanity or see the middle finger being raised around their kids?
Click to expand...
It's the fine that's the problem. 16 million is ridiculous.

Hell, if anything the stir created by this offensive gesture generated publicity for the half time show and NFL. Call it even.
 
K

KHarvey16

Member
Northeastmonk said:
It's a family venue. They also air to millions and millions of family audiences. What if little old Jimmy or Sara watches it and starts flipping off the family dog or neighbors next door? Profanity and symbols like that are not acceptable in the public's eye.

Does GAF want to hear profanity or see the middle finger being raised around their kids?
Click to expand...

It's true. What they should be teaching them is that concussions and other severe physical injuries are the result of playing to win!
 
P

PrimaNocta

Member
lol 16 million for flipping the bird? GTFO NFL. I can understand a fine for breaking terms of a contract, but 16 mil? Hell no.

Is M.I.A worth that much anyways?
 
S

slit

Member
Northeastmonk said:
It's a family venue. They also air to millions and millions of family audiences. What if little old Jimmy or Sara watches it and starts flipping off the family dog or neighbors next door? Profanity and symbols like that are not acceptable in the public's eye.

Does GAF want to hear profanity or see the middle finger being raised around their kids?
Click to expand...

There is no way to shelter them from that sort of thing no matter how hard you try and the NFL hardly has the right to take moral highground on anything. She is not an NFL employee, they need to get over themselves. I hope every single performer that the NFL hires does it in support of her.
 
L

lil smoke

Banned
She is worth 15m more because she flipped during the SB?

How did they quantify that?

Anyway I guess this is what the legal system is for.
 
C

Cheddahz

Banned
Mr.Awesome said:
Get her nfl. She had no business being there to begin with then tries stealing the spotlight with stupid antics because god knows she couldn't do it with talent.
Click to expand...

M.I.A actually released one of my favorite albums from last year, but I think demanding $16.6 million for flipping the bird is insane
 
A

ampere

Member
Goodell wasn't happy with the $44M salary last year, he's looking for new revenue streams.

Now the NFL has added an additional claim, seeking $15.1 million more in "restitution" as the alleged value of public exposure she received by appearing for an approximately two minute segment during Madonna's performance.
Click to expand...

lol. They want to charge her for what they could have charged for ad time.
 
S

Sol..

I am Wayne Brady.
Ridiculous, but somebody is gonna have to pay for this trend of randomly putting up the middle finger in photos. Somebody has to pay
 
N

Napoleonthechimp

Member
I would have thought that it'd be the responsibility of the broadcasters who aired it and the people who booked her.

Also, they don't get paid to perform? Lol. Fuck off NFL.
 
Nameless

Nameless

Member
A sport where men train all year around for the sole purpose of launching their bodies at other men violently is concerned about a gesture that was offensive in the 1930s?

Did they actually lose sponsors over that ?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Stalker 2 Dev GSC Game World Explains for the First Time What Went Wrong With A-Life 2.0, and Why It Was Removed From the Game’s Description on Steam
Game Dev 2
90
5K
Loope replied
What actually happened to Warren Ellis?
14
2K
CGNoire replied
[Bustle] Please Respect Mia Khalifa’s Rebrand
6 7 8 9 10
499
73K
Maiden Voyage replied
Jay-Z Turns Down Offer to Perform at 2018 Super Bowl
2 3
113
15K
Spiritual_Chaos replied
  • Locked
The PlayStation 5 Is Starting to Look Like the Revolution It Promised
Game Dev Hardware 3 4 5 6 7
300
36K
HoofHearted replied
Top Bottom