Those up to date with music news may have noticed something slightly off about the thursday Night Football game between the Piitsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens: A much-hyped pre-game musical number was not broadcast as promised. CBS had previously announced it would open all of the Thursday night games with a recording of Jay Z and Rihanna singing "Run This Town," a great choice if we say so ourselves (Kanye's verse would not be part of the package). The NFL and network opted to cancel that segment due to the current furor regarding Ray Rice and his domestic abuse video.
In case you can't put two-and-two together: Rihanna is the most relevant face of domestic violence in the music industry at the moment and the NFL thought her appearance might reopen the wound that, in reality, is far from healed.
This is what we, in the industry of being sensible, would call a "damn shame."
First of all, this move isn't about the NFL trying to appear sensitive to victims of domestic abuse: The league is trying its hardest to prevent fans from seeing anything that could trigger thoughts about domestic abuse. Secondly, who's ultimately being punished here? Rihanna, and her only error in this case was being the victim of domestic abuse. If Rihanna were to pull out of the deal in protest of the league's handling of domestic abuse through the years than we would understand her cause, but this is cowardice.
The "Run This Town" segment hasn't been cancelled outright and it could still come back for games not featuring Ray Rice's former team.
