More On the NCAA and Focus on the Family Ads

The blogosphere is beginning to light up on this issue. Check here and here, for more information about the NCAA ads and here to sign a petition to the NCAA asking them to take down the FOF ads they have on NCAA.com.

I just received a copy of the NCAA's Advertising and Promotional Standards. It is clear to me that running the Focus on the Family ads is in complete violation of the these standards. A few excerpts from the standards:

The NCAA’s advertising and promotional standards are designed to encourage those advertisements and advertisers that support the NCAA’s ideals and exclude those advertisements and advertisers (and others who wish to associate with NCAA activities) that do not appear to be in the best interests of higher education and student-athletes.

The NCAA strives to be associated with entities and messages that:

• Support diversity, gender equity, nondiscrimination, physical fitness, healthy behaviors, youth development, sportsmanship, ethical conduct, academic standards, student-athlete welfare and amateurism.

NCAA believes, at a minimum, that advertisements, advertisers and others who wish to be associated with NCAA events should not:

• Cause harm to student-athlete health, safety and welfare.
• Bring discredit to the purposes, values or principles of the NCAA.
• Negatively impact the best interests of intercollegiate athletics or higher education.

Among the examples of ads that are "impermissable" according to the NCAA Standards are "Advocacy of viewpoints on controversial issues of public importance (e.g., religious beliefs, political beliefs)."

Here is the email address of the Director of NCAA Broadcasting, Greg Weitekamp – gweitekamp@ncaa.org Write him to demand that the NCAA take down the FOF ads and reconsider the decision to run them during the men’s basketball tournament.

We can do this, people. We can turn this bad decision by the NCAA around.