Nashville radio contest angers Steelers, Titans
Both teams agree the canceled promotion was in poor taste.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A Nashville radio station's planned "Rush Tommy Maddox to the Hospital" contest to win tickets to Saturday's Tennessee-Pittsburgh playoff game created a firestorm of controversy Thursday, angering fans of both teams along with the Steelers' head coach.
A sea of angry calls flooded the station after the contest was announced.
The DJs involved in the contest posted an apology on the station's Web site, and a news conference was scheduled for 7 a.m. this morning to address the issue.
The contest was scheduled for lunch hour Friday and would have called for three teams of two people, one dressed as a doctor and the other as "an injured Steelers player," with the doctor pushing the injured "player" on a gurney from The Coliseum toward a fictional hospital.
The Titans play their home games at The Coliseum.
Maddox, Pittsburgh's quarterback, was knocked unconscious Nov. 17 in Nashville and had to be carried off the field on a stretcher. He suffered concussions to his head and spinal cord, causing temporary paralysis. Maddox has since fully recovered.
Tasteless
"I think that it's tasteless," Steelers Coach Bill Cowher said of the contest. "That's all I'm going to say about that. Whatever amuses some people."
Titans President Jeff Diamond said his team didn't know about the contest until it was advertised on the radio.
"We find the promotion to be in poor taste and extremely inappropriate," Diamond said.
Maddox chose not to make much of the contest and said it would not affect the outcome of Saturday's game. The Titans beat the Steelers in November, 31-23.
"We're going to show up on Saturday and play as hard as we can," he said. "Most of the people down there have been very supportive -- the doctors, the medical staff, were unbelievable in the way they handled the whole situation.
"You can't worry about what a few people do."