I mean, wtf

June 20, 2006 3:42 PM

Ray Whitney, helps team win Stanley Cup, but screams "F**king" on prime-time tv (youtube link). When Bono said it the FCC turned the other cheek but then later reversed their decision and said it was indecent and uttering the F-Word would earn a fine. Now mere days after Bush signed legistlation that would increase the maximum fine to $325,000 per station, the question is, will the FCC fine NBC $30 million for the indecency broadcast throughout the country last night?
posted by tsarfan (61 comments total)

Does a bear s**t in the woods?
posted by blucevalo at 3:45 PM on June 20, 2006

Dang it all...My ears were saving their virginiity until they got married....
posted by x_3mta3 at 3:56 PM on June 20, 2006

$325,000? Seriously? Man, how fucked up is that?
posted by kosher_jenny at 4:00 PM on June 20, 2006

no doubt x_3mta3 no doubt.
posted by nola at 4:00 PM on June 20, 2006

LOL.....if you just loop it and play it over and over it sounds like he's saying...."fuck iraq"....not that he is.
posted by oliver_crunk at 4:00 PM on June 20, 2006

Is he saying "fuck Iraq?"
posted by sixpack at 4:01 PM on June 20, 2006

Fuck. That's a fuck-load of money just for saying a fucking word.
posted by quin at 4:02 PM on June 20, 2006

It's either "fuckin' right!" or "fuckin' rad!"... It's definately not "fuck Iraq!"
posted by smitt at 4:06 PM on June 20, 2006

will the FCC fine NBC $30 million for the indecency broadcast throughout the country last night?

I hope so. One all the games have a ten minute delay, and parts inexplicably cut off, maybe then Americans will give a shit about government censorship.

Probably not, though.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 4:07 PM on June 20, 2006

I thought it was "Fucking right!" too, I would like to hear it in context.
posted by bobo123 at 4:08 PM on June 20, 2006

"One all the games have a ten minute delay, and parts inexplicably cut off, maybe then Americans will give a shit about government censorship."

Dude, it's hockey. Americans wouldn't give a shit if you put it on a ten year delay.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 4:11 PM on June 20, 2006 [2 favorites]

I thought it was "Fucking right!" too, I would like to hear it in context.

From what I remember, before that came "YEAH!!!" and afterwards came sudden silence.
posted by danb at 4:12 PM on June 20, 2006

Fuckfilter
posted by isopraxis at 4:23 PM on June 20, 2006

Dude, it's hockey. Americans wouldn't give a shit if you put it on a ten year delay.

Nice.
posted by Hicksu at 4:33 PM on June 20, 2006

I'm pretty sure he was in the middle of saying, "Fucking Radical!!!!"

Where the fucking fuck is he fucking from?
posted by bobjohnsonmilw at 4:37 PM on June 20, 2006

Fuck this
posted by RufusW at 4:39 PM on June 20, 2006

will the FCC fine NBC $30 million for the indecency broadcast throughout the country last night?


Fuckin' right--it's not just for Howard Stern anymore.
posted by leftcoastbob at 4:45 PM on June 20, 2006

will the FCC fine NBC $30 million for the indecency broadcast throughout the country last night?

Doubtful. Factors the FCC has, in the past, used to determine, on a case-by-case basis, whether something is "indecent:"
• Description or Depiction is Explicit or Graphic
• Material Dwells on or Repeats at Length Depictions of Excretory Functions or Sexual Acts/Organs
• Whether the material appears to Pander, or Titillate, or Shock.

I would say this incident fits none of the above. (Then again, I'm not the FCC.) Just saying "Fuck" isn't necessarily enough. And the FCC has always given greater leniency to unscripted/live events. Besides which, somebody still has to lodge an official complaint for them to take any action. Are you going to send a letter to the FCC?
posted by Iason at 4:47 PM on June 20, 2006

Faaaaaaaaark - 1975 revisited.
posted by tellurian at 4:52 PM on June 20, 2006

I would say this incident fits none of the above. (Then again, I'm not the FCC.) Just saying "Fuck" isn't necessarily enough. And the FCC has always given greater leniency to unscripted/live events. Besides which, somebody still has to lodge an official complaint for them to take any action. Are you going to send a letter to the FCC?

No, but I bet the family research counsel will get in a few thousand.
posted by delmoi at 4:56 PM on June 20, 2006

Iason,

I would have agreed with you if not for these comments by Powell the day the FCC reversed its ruling on Bono

* For the first time, the Commission has applied the profanity section of the statute for the broadcast of this highly offensive word

* The Commission has an important obligation to punish those who violate our law...

* Given that today's decision clearly departs from past precedent in important ways, I could not support a fine retroactively against the parties

* Prospectively, parties are on notice that they could now face significant penalties for similar violations.
posted by tsarfan at 4:56 PM on June 20, 2006

so who won the Stanley cup?
posted by jb at 5:07 PM on June 20, 2006

Yeah, you're not wrong, but I'm still willing to wager that that was a unique circumstance, given the ridiculous level of "public outcry." I got the impression that Powell just figured he had to do something to get "the public" (read: crazy ultra-right-wing bug-up-their-ass organizations) off his back. No doubt the FCC is more willing than in the past to find indecency in things like these, but I'd still be surprised if all of their precedent was thrown out the window, and that incidents like these are ruled indecent on a regular basis. But I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
posted by Iason at 5:09 PM on June 20, 2006

Whoever won, NBC lost.
posted by wendell at 5:11 PM on June 20, 2006

When Bush signed the Broadcast Decency bullshit into law last week, I immediately got on the phone with the FCC complaint line (1-888-CALLFCC) and demanded that they level maximum fines against Fox, MSNBC, ABC, CBS and others for broadcasting content that was "obscene, profane and indecent". All these networks had broadcast graphic images of a dead, bloated, bloody human body on primetime television. I'm tired of this double standard horseshit - a woman's nipple is obscene, but a dead body is good television? FUCK THAT NOISE.
posted by dbiedny at 5:27 PM on June 20, 2006

They should charge $1 for every viewer who saw the broadcast. I'm sure the network can afford the $40k fine.
posted by acetonic at 5:30 PM on June 20, 2006

A hockey player using the F-word after winning the Stanley Cup? I think that's a given.
posted by disgruntled at 5:43 PM on June 20, 2006

will the FCC fine NBC $30 million for the indecency broadcast throughout the country last night?

No wardrobe malfunction, no fine.
posted by kirkaracha at 5:50 PM on June 20, 2006

I seriously can't wait. I really, really, hope they try to hit NBC with a fine that big.

Once it becomes cheaper to fight the fine in court than to just pay it, the FCC will find itself in a world of a fucking hurt.
posted by zerolives at 5:58 PM on June 20, 2006

From the Bush signing of law article noted above:

[Bush said] "The language is becoming coarser during the times when it's more likely children will be watching television. It's a bad trend, a bad sign."

I can easily explain to my daughter "bad" words, and breasts (which she remembers quite fondly). I do have trouble explaining why we are busy killing hundreds of thousands of people on the other side of the world for no reason.

For fuck's sake, I'm glad we've got our priorities straight.
posted by fydfyd at 6:01 PM on June 20, 2006

I do have trouble explaining why we are busy killing hundreds of thousands of people on the other side of the world for no reason.

Have her ask her great grandparents about war profiteers.
posted by rough ashlar at 6:06 PM on June 20, 2006

Dude, it's hockey. Americans wouldn't give a shit if you put it on a ten year delay.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 7:11 PM EST on June 20

I would have thought so too, except I live in Raleigh. The Play-offs have been front page news for the last month. There has been a deluge of pictures, side bar stories, and letters to the editor. This morning I awoke to a folded paper with a screaming headline that took up the top fourth of the page (what is that? 50 point type?) and my heart leaped in my throat-- I was sure we had gone to war with Iran. Nope. The Hurricanes won.

(Note: the stadiums were empty one year ago. All this local enthusiam is johnny-come-latelys jumping on the winner's bandwagon.)
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 6:37 PM on June 20, 2006

Maybe if they claim he actually said "Fuck Iraq" they can avoid the fine.

This whole thing is stupid. Do people really care that much? Maybe a few, and they're vocal enough to make elected officials think it's a big deal, but seriously. I like a little enthusiasm with my televised sporting events. Winning the Stanley Cup is a big deal; if that were me I doubt I could help but curse a little. "Fuck yeah motherfuckers! We're the motherfuckin' Stanley Cup Champs!!"
posted by First Post at 6:50 PM on June 20, 2006

Ray Whitney, helps team win Stanley Cup, but screams "F**king" on prime-time tv

Is the FCC going to send a fine to mathowie if you use "Fucking" on Metafilter? What the fuck?
posted by eyeballkid at 6:54 PM on June 20, 2006

All this local enthusiam is johnny-come-latelys jumping on the winner's bandwagon

As a Buffalo fan, that is exactly what I don't like hearing.
...buuut, anyway. Not too many Americans watch hockey, and those that do won't care at all about this.
posted by oflinkey at 6:54 PM on June 20, 2006

Interesting. Are there any other words or word combinations that carry heavy fines?

What about "cunt"? What if i pronounce it "coont?"
What about "The Prez is a dolt and the war is a stupid idea"?
posted by spazzm at 7:12 PM on June 20, 2006

Jeez! If the FCC regulation extended to cable, then Deadwood would have cost each station $681,850,000
posted by Neiltupper at 7:15 PM on June 20, 2006

Yeah. Can't say "fuck" on television, but it's ok to jingo-titillate via the bodies of our "enemies" on prime time.

When did non-Americans take over America, anyway?
posted by fold_and_mutilate at 7:38 PM on June 20, 2006

Where the fucking fuck is he fucking from?

Oddly enough, a community just northeast of... Edmonton (Whitney was an Oilers stick boy at one point, and even played for the home side earlier in his career).
posted by hangashore at 8:02 PM on June 20, 2006

You know what's offensive?
Hockey teams in places not cold enough for ice, that's what.
posted by Octaviuz at 8:08 PM on June 20, 2006

and just where is it cold enough for ice in june? ... (in the populated northern hemisphere, of course)

i wonder ... if enough people who are dissatisfied with the media found a way to invade live television broadcast and scream "fuck", could we put the media out of business?
posted by pyramid termite at 8:29 PM on June 20, 2006

I like that "coont" idea. You can have cussing as long as it's in a Scottish accent.
posted by Doublewhiskeycokenoice at 8:30 PM on June 20, 2006

You know what's offensive?
Hockey teams in places not cold enough for ice, that's what.

We actually had a pretty wicked ice storm about 4 years ago, then another one the next year.

I know what you mean, though. No one likes redneck hockey.
posted by kurmbox at 8:30 PM on June 20, 2006

"Fucken right!" = "Damn skippy!" for those of you who didn't grow up in rural Canada.


And fucken right, Octaviuz.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:34 PM on June 20, 2006

Too bad he didn't say "I want these muthafuckin' Stanley Cups off my muthafuckin' plane!"
posted by zardoz at 8:44 PM on June 20, 2006

You know what's offensive?
Hockey teams in places not cold enough for ice, that's what.

Wow, you're pretty easily offended, aren't you hater? I guess Vancouver having an NHL team offends you as well.
posted by NoMich at 9:40 PM on June 20, 2006

I have one important question:
Did they change the minimum fine?

Previously, the minimum fine for an indecency complaint was roughly $7,000, which may sound like small potatoes, but is nothing to sneeze at if you are running a college radio station on a shoestring budget of less than a hundred grand all told.

FCC fines affect not just huge network television corporations, but also small local non-profit radio stations. There are roughly 3,000 broadcasters with educational FM licenses from the FCC. How does this new law affect them?
posted by jann at 9:54 PM on June 20, 2006

Canadians don't give a fuck about stupid American laws.
posted by Pseudonumb at 10:01 PM on June 20, 2006

About 35 years ago, George Carlin carefully explained to the entire world why worrying about a small set of 'naughty' words was just insane.

It was generally agreed that he was correct: with so much other questionable content being broadcast (fill in your own favorite example), it was utterly ridiculous to worry about the naughtiness of seven particular words that everybody knows.

The expectation was that the government, the mass media, and the culture in general would soon outgrow this weird streak of prudishness. And - on cable, at least - it's true.

So, here we are, in the 21st century, and America is moving backwards on this issue: suddenly, 'naughty' words are even MORE dangerous than they were even a few months ago.

(But only on the broadcast media. The paid media (cable, satellite) really ARE getting over it, and starting to use the language in ways in which actual living people use it.)

Can anybody explain to me what the hell is happening?
posted by AsYouKnow Bob at 10:26 PM on June 20, 2006

How much does saying 'feck' cost you? 'Fock'? How about 'motherlovin'?
posted by Football Bat at 10:33 PM on June 20, 2006

Way too late to the party, but first off... Ray Whitney said "Fucking Rights!" It's a bit of Canadian hick slang.

Secondly: "(Note: the stadiums were empty one year ago. All this local enthusiam is johnny-come-latelys jumping on the winner's bandwagon.)"

The, ahem, arenas were empty a year ago because there was a lockout.
posted by damclean2 at 10:38 PM on June 20, 2006

NORTH KOREA LAUNCHED A MISSLE!!!?!?!

Oh, no, wait....

"...a woman's nipple is obscene, but a dead body is good television? FUCK THAT NOISE." - dbiedny

"So, here we are, in the 21st century, and America is moving backwards on this issue..." - AsYouKnow Bob

Indeed.
posted by Smedleyman at 11:16 PM on June 20, 2006 [1 favorite]

"Fucken right!" = "Damn skippy!"

Hmm...I'd say it's more like "Fucken right! = Hell yeah!". Or something like that. Nobody says "Damn skippy!" in the US. Well, at least not seriously.
posted by jahmoon at 11:25 PM on June 20, 2006

(But only on the broadcast media. The paid media (cable, satellite) really ARE getting over it, and starting to use the language in ways in which actual living people use it.)

Very true. The problem isn't that people heard the word, it's that they heard it for free.
posted by the_bone at 11:33 PM on June 20, 2006

You know what's offensive?
Hockey teams in places not cold enough for ice, that's what.
posted by Octaviuz

Apparently, not a hockey fan.
posted by NationalKato at 7:17 AM on June 21, 2006

Revoke their Stanley Cup! Give it to the Oilers, all gentlemen who do not utter unpleasant words in the presence of women and children.
posted by pracowity at 7:41 AM on June 21, 2006

Ray Whitney said "Fucking Rights!" It's a bit of Canadian hick slang.

I think you've nailed it, damclean2. An example of this phrase used in context would be:

(fade in to high school lunchroom)

Dougie: So what're we doin tonite?
Gordie: Gettin' fuckin' hammered!
Dougie: Fuckin' rights!
posted by Turtles all the way down at 8:04 AM on June 21, 2006

Fucking rights? Never heard it like that before.

Plural? As in I've got rights and I'm gonna use 'em?

It's fuckin right. As in "Fuckin' right I'm takin his old lady to the HOtel tonight."

Same meaning as fuckin' A. Or is it "eh"? That one I don't get.
posted by crowman at 8:49 AM on June 21, 2006

I might have uttered that word had I watched the game.

/Whalers fan
posted by kurumi at 10:16 AM on June 21, 2006

crowman, maybe it's a western thing. I know I've heard it (and said it, when I was that age) hundreds of times.

The first part of "fuckin'" should be drawn out, and the "rights" part is pronounced with the Canadian pronunciation ("knife","like", "bright" vs "high", "fine"), but even moreso and shorter.

Faaaaaahhkin RITES!
posted by Turtles all the way down at 10:31 AM on June 21, 2006

I feel compelled to comment but am at a loss for words.

Okay, maybe not. I remember back when that BP plant in Texas blew up, I heard on the news that when it happened before, it had killed two people and the company was fined like 25K for the "violation." I find it beyond humor that saying "fuck" on TV is worth so much more in fines.
posted by effwerd at 12:04 PM on June 21, 2006