ESPN Jesus Ad Controversy: Commercial for Sick Kids Airs During NCAA Game (VIDEO)
ESPN's Jesus ad controversy has finally come to a close as the sports programming network aired a commercial with religious themes during an NCAA basketball game on Saturday. ESPN initially decided not to air the ad associated with SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center in St. Louis, Mo. because it contained the words "Jesus" and "God."
The ESPN Jesus ad controversy began when the CGMC submitted their commercial, which encouraged viewers to send messages to sick children as part of the Tree of Hope campaign.
"At SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center, we celebrate the birth of Jesus and the season of giving, bringing hope to the many children, parents, and families that we serve," the commercial said. "Our patients are filled with hope as they receive a message each day from the treasure chest beneath our tree of hope. Help us reveal God's healing presence this Christmas. Send your message of hope at Glennon.org."
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Dan Buck, vice president of the Cardinal Glennon Children's Foundation, was told that the 30-second spot was rejected because mentioning Jesus and God were "problematic." ESPN's advertising guidelines say the network will reject "political or religious advocacy, or issue-oriented advertising."
Although CGCF stated that they were "disappointed" with ESPN's decision, they accepted it and created a new commercial more in line with the network's standards. That version began airing, but Christians and some pundits were upset at the decision.
Political talk show host Bill O'Reilly and former governor Sarah Palin both mentioned ESPN as anti-Christmas, encouraging them to support the "reason for the season"— the birth of Jesus Christ. That led to the outcry from many of their fans and listeners, and ESPN caved to the pressure and reversed their decision.
"We have again reviewed the ads submitted for the SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center and have concluded that we will accept the original requested commercial," ESPN said in a statement emailed to The Christian Post. "This decision is consistent with our practice of individual review of all ads under our commercial advocacy standards."
To see the ad that garnered controversy on ESPN, click below.
