Did you see the Monday Night Football promotion before the game where Desperate Housewives star Nicolette Sheridan is seen wearing only a towel and tries to seduce Philadelphia Eagles star receiver Terrell Owens into skip the game for her? In the end, she drops her towel (although all the audience sees is her upper back), Owens smiles and says, “The Eagles will have to win without me” and then she jumps into his arms.

I personally didn’t see it but apparently plenty of people did and were upset by it, complaining to ABC, the NFL, and the FCC. But were they complaining that it was inappropriate because of the sexual imagery or because of the Black male-White female sexual imagery?

Tony Dungy, well-respected head coach of the Indianapolis Colts (and who is Black) commented that “To me, that’s the first thing I thought of as an African American. I think it’s stereotypical in looking at the players, and on the heels of the Kobe Bryant incident, I think it’s very insensitive.” As the CNNSI writer points out,

In fact, I tell you what’s been the most amazing moment for me since Monday night. It was a friend telling me that one of his buddies was shocked by the suggestion that all this controversy could’ve had anything to do with racial attitudes. As my friend’s friend said, “Aren’t we past the days when we have to think like that?”

No, we aren’t. If you want to know how touchy the subject of black men hooking up with white women is, take a quick poll of America. There are plenty of black women who will have something to say about it. There are still plenty of interracial couples who know what it feels like to be stared at when they’re out together.

And there are plenty of parents, black and white, who are petrified by the thought of their sons and daughters proclaiming their love for somebody with a skin color different from their own. And when it comes to sports, there are plenty of people uncomfortable with the notion of a black man bedding a white woman.

I never thought that Monday Night Football would prove to be such an interesting sociological issue!