National Football League commissioner Paul Tagliabue lashed out at broadcast partner
ESPN’s new fictional pro-football drama, Playmakers.
"Everyone feels that it's a rather gross mischaracterization of our sport,"
Tagliabue told Cable News Network Thursday.
The league and the NFL Players Association, he added, have had discussions
with ESPN, but he did not elaborate.
Tagliabue was in Washington, D.C., for the NFL’s season-opening festivities.
Early in the show’s creation, ESPN apparently approached the league on
collaborating on Playmakers, which depicts football on and off the field
and tackles thorny issues like drug use.
ESPN, however, remains steadfast.
"Playmakers is a drama, and the story lines could come from any sport and
any part of society," an ESPN spokesperson said. "Professional football is just
the backdrop."
After two episodes, Playmakers is averaging a 2.3 household
rating.
