FOX apologizes for mocking Jessica Simpson’s weight in cartoon

Burger King and the FOX network have apologized for a cartoon skit which aired last Sunday during a pregame show that mocked Jessica Simpson for her supposed weight gain.

From the Dallas Morning News:

In the commercial, the cartoon version of Marion Barber says, “Man, I still can’t believe Tony dated Jessica Simpson, even after she blew up bigger than Flozell Adams!”

The cartoon version of Jason Witten says, “Unlike Tony, at least Jessica comes up big when it counts!”

And the cartoon version of coach Wade Phillips adds, “Say Tony, is Jessica around? We could use a defensive tackle!”

Fox issued a statement saying, “Burger King did not have any editorial input in the creation of the animation that ran last Sunday, and no one from Burger King Corp., approved it before it aired.

“Upon reflection, our poor attempt at humor was insensitive, and we deeply apologize to anyone who might have been offended.”

FOX is right – the commercial was insensitive. I’d also add stupid, unnecessary and cruel in some respects.

As my esteemed colleague John Paulsen recently said, we don’t need to give any more young women complexes about their weight. FOX should have apologized for their lack in judgment.

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FOX pokes fun at Jessica Simpson’s weight during pregame show

Somebody has to get fired for this right?

Whether you think it’s funny or not, this crossed the line and I’m shocked FOX actually aired it. If they wanted to poke fun at the Cowboys, they didn’t have to drag Jessica Simpson’s weight into it.

That said, the bit about Phillips is freaking hilarious. They should have stuck with that and left Simpson’s weight out of it.

Newman says Romo’s relationship with Jessica Simpson is affecting his play

In an interview with WFFA Channel 8’s Joe Trahan, Cowboys’ cornerback Terence Newman said that Tony Romo’s relationship with Jessica Simpson has affected his ability to be a successful quarterback.

Tony RomoWFFA Ch. 8’s Joe Trahan asked Newman last week about Troy Aikman’s take that Romo “hasn’t fully grasped what being the Cowboys quarterback is all about.”

Newman’s reply: “I think that with the situation Tony was in, I think that kind of maybe hurt him a little bit – being a first-year starter, then you have the limelight with his girlfriend and situations of that nature. It’s going to take away from him being a quarterback, being a successful quarterback. He won 13 games and everything was perfect, but now after this past season, it was, ‘Is he doing enough for the team? Is he working hard enough? You know, he’s got this girlfriend, so …’ I think that once he inherited the starting quarterback job and his relationship got into the national media attention, I think that that was something that definitely hurt and took away from Tony Romo being a great quarterback.”

While I don’t disagree with what Newman said (how can I – I’m not a Cowboy and thus don’t know the situation like he does), players have every right to have a personal life off the field. It doesn’t matter if Romo is dating Jessica Simpson or Jessica Nobody – his personal business is his own.

That said, this is at least the third time that Romo has been publicly criticized for his relationship with Simpson. He was hammered by the media for going on vacation with her during the Cowboys’ bye week before a playoff game two years ago, and then came Aikman’s comments, now Newman is speaking out. So maybe Romo does need to be more focused on his football responsibilities. This isn’t to say that he needs to spend every waking hour dedicated to being a quarterback, but obviously there is an issue here because this story won’t die.

10 things in sports that I’m thankful for

Ah, Thanksgiving – the time to give thanks.

I thought that since it was Thanksgiving (which don’t forget, is the time to give thanks) that I would lay out 10 things that I’m thankful for in the world of sports.

I’m thankful for…

1…there’s no possible way we’ll see a Big Ten team play in the national championship.
I love the Big Ten for many reasons – the physical brand of football, the traditions, the rivalries, etc. But there’s no team in that conference this year that could match up with the likes of Alabama, Florida, Texas or Oklahoma on a national stage. Penn State and Ohio State are solid teams, but if the Nittany Lions took on the Gators in the title game, there’s a good chance that we’d all be watching “A Charlie Brown Christmas” by halftime.


New York Jets
2…parity in the NFL.
How exciting is the NFL again this season? None of the divisions outside of the NFC West and maybe the NFC East have been decided yet and we still have five weeks of action left. Granted, there has been a lot of mediocre football being played around the league, but at least parity has bred competition on a weekly basis. Who would have thought that at this point in the season, the Jets, Ravens and Falcons would all be vying for a playoff spot?

3…rivalry week in college football.
Granted, not all of the matchups are attractive, but how great is it that Auburn is playing Alabama the same week Florida is playing Florida State? Even Ole’ Miss and Mississippi State will be entertaining and the possibility that one of the ranked schools will be knocked off by a rival is exciting.

4…the Hot Stove League is heating up again.
Outside of Opening Day and the postseason, this is by far the best time in baseball. Who doesn’t love hopping on the computer each day and surfing through all the rumors? And once your team lands one of the prized free agents, it’s all you can do from imaging your team playing in the Fall Classic next year.

5…fantasy football playoffs.
Everyone sitting in the bottom half of their fantasy football standings right now just flipped me the bird, but for those of us gearing up for the playoffs, the culmination of everything we’ve been working for all season is finally here. This is the time of year when you say, “Work? What work? Sorry boss – I’ve got to check my roster 4,000 more times before noon and then hit the Steelers training room so I can massage Ben Roethlisberger’s hamstrings so to ensure he’s ready to go this Sunday.”

6…shootouts in hockey.
Hockey purists tell me that shootouts determining which team wins and loses “isn’t really hockey.” Fair enough, but at least when I spend $80 on a ticket now I actually see my team win or go down in flames. There’s nothing more unsatisfying than a tie in sports – any sport. If I watch a bunch of players go at it on a slab of ice for three hours, I want to feel either ecstatic or traumatized at the end.

Manny Ramirez7…Manny Ramirez being a free agent.
If you don’t like following the circus that is Manny Ramirez, than you’ve got issues. And the fact that he’s a free agent this offseason only means we’ll get “Manny being Manny” on full blast over the next couple weeks/months. I seriously can’t wait to see where this goofy bastard winds up playing next year, but I’m going to enjoy the process even more.

8…humorous sports blogs.
How great is it that I can get a recap of the Cowboys-Giants game at the same place I can read about how Tony Romo nailed Jessica Simpson on a beach in Mexico? It’s a beautiful thing.

9…MAC football on a Tuesday night.
When most people see that Northern Illinois is taking on Buffalo on a random Tuesday night, they usually keep flipping until they land on a new episode of “Dancing With the Stars.” Not me. During football season, I don’t care of Texas is playing Oklahoma or Texas School for the Blind is taking on Oklahoma Little Sisters of the Poor – I’m watching it…and recording that new episode of “Dancing with the Stars.”

10…Erin Andrews working the sidelines.
‘Nuff said.

Tony Romo takes a homeless man to the movies

Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo is one sweet, sweet man.

A homeless man who goes by Doc was cashing in change at a Cinemark Theatre in Dallas when a guy walked up and offered to pay his way into the movie. He planned to spend his day passing out fliers and accepted a rain check before realizing that he recognized the generous gentleman.
“Was that Tony Romo?” Doc asked the worker behind the counter.

It sure was. Doc, who requested that his real name not be used, hustled across the street to the consignment store that paid him to occasionally pass out fliers and requested the day off. By the time he got back to the theater, Role Model had already started.

Romo, who confirmed the story but didn’t want to elaborate, waved Doc over to sit by him and his friend. Doc sheepishly mentioned that he hadn’t showered in a few days.

“Don’t worry about that,” Romo said. “I’m used to locker rooms.”

And so the $67 million quarterback and a man who doesn’t have $6.70 to his name sat next to each other and shared laughs for 90 minutes or so.

For Romo – who made news by changing a couple’s tire on a roadside on the way home the night of the season opener – it was just another kind gesture to a random stranger. It meant the world to Doc.

“For me, it was a blessing,” Doc said. “It came at just the right time. It gave me some encouragement and faith in mankind. I just wanted to say thank you.”

Hot ass Jessica Simpson got herself a good one. Call me sentimental, but I think that’s a cool story. It sure beats hearing every couple of days about Larry Johnson spitting and slapping (allegedly) women around.

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