As I was going through my Twitter-feed at the laundromat this afternoon, I came across a surprising piece by Howard Beck of the NY Times. It explained how Ray Allen's appearance on last-night's touching "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" was deleted. The reason why: the NBA lockout. You see, during the lockout, there were/are certain rules around players' likenesses and team logos etc. Beck goes-on to explain:
When the N.B.A. shut down in July, the relationship between the league and its players was severed, and a legal barrier was erected. No player likenesses could appear in association with N.B.A. programming or products. The league’s Web sites and its cable channel were scrubbed of all current players. In addition, any TV show receiving permission to use N.B.A. “marks” — licensed apparel and memorabilia — could not also feature an N.B.A. player. This is where “Extreme Makeover” ran into a conflict.
To top it off, Ray didn't even find out that his scenes would be cut from the show until the day before. If you missed the show, it was an absolutely beautiful story of one family's struggle with bullying, and the tragic death of a child. The scenes with Ray were so uplifting, and it was obvious that young Charles was so excited to meet one of his heroes. It's a travesty that the NBA lockout caused such a wonderful part of the show to be left-out of the broadcast.
Here is the piece in it's entirety via the New York Times' website: "Broadcast of Good Deed…."
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