If you were tuned into the LSU and Mississippi State football game, you’ve probably seen or heard about Joe Burrow’s butt.
CBS showed the play in which a Mississippi State player accidentally pulled down Burrow’s pants in an attempt to tackle him. I think that action warrants an apology from the network.
The Advocate published an article stating the same thing, CBS should apologize. The article stated that the same action would not have been taken if the athlete were a woman and I agree.
If it were a woman and she had an accident like Burrow’s during a game, there would be no way the same play would be shown as many times as Burrow’s was.
What I do not understand is the response received for the slip up during the play. I saw numerous pictures of Burrow’s butt on my Instagram Sunday morning and I was surprised to see most of the accounts doing so belonged to women.
If it were male students and male LSU football fans posting a photo of a woman’s butt in the same manner, it would be a problem.
The stigma shouldn’t be different between male and female athletes. Above that, the media shouldn’t have the power to maintain the stigma by creating a meme out of it. Actions regarding male and female athletes like showing their body or objectifying them should not be different. We can’t treat one gender differently from the other.
People need to understand that objectifying someone is never right, no matter their gender. I understand this was a small case and not too serious in scope. No matter the case, athletes or anyone in the public eye should not be treated in such a way.
It is not just the fact that the play was shown, but it was the number of replays, post and video shares on multiple social media accounts making the play more of a spectacle than it had to be.
I think the Network should apologize to Burrow out of respect for showing an intimate part of the quarterback’s body to a massive audience. CBS should not be able to get away with doing this to someone just because it was male player.
I do commend Burrow for laughing at himself and the many photos regarding the accident. He was able to take it in stride and feed into the joke surrounding him and the situation. I don’t think I could have done the same.
Shelby Bordes is a 20-year-old mass communication junior from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
