As Joe Flacco celebrated on the field after the Ravens won the Super Bowl, he yelled to a teammate, “This is f--king awesome.” Unfortunately, the CBS microphones picked up the F-bomb and broadcast it to 100 million or so people who were watching.
That has CBS taking criticism from the Parents Television Council.
“No one should be surprised that a jubilant quarterback might use profane language while celebrating a career-defining win, but that is precisely the reason why CBS should have taken precautions,” PTC President Tim Winter said in a statement, via Politico.com. “Joe Flacco’s use of the F-word, while understandable, does not absolve CBS of its legal obligation to prevent profane language from being broadcast — especially during something as uniquely pervasive as the Super Bowl.”
Obviously, the folks at CBS wish they had been able to catch the F-bomb in time to bleep it, but sometimes during a live event, a swear word slips through. The Parents Television Council is comparing the Flacco F-bomb to the Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction, but just because everyone overreacted to that incident doesn’t mean we need another round of overreactions to Flacco’s naughty word.