Cleveland Cavaliers Apologize for Promo Showing Man Throwing Woman to the Ground
The video "was intended to be a humorous spoof," the team said.
— -- The Cleveland Cavaliers apologized today for a parody video shown at a game this week depicting a man throwing a woman to the ground for wearing a competing team's jersey.
The Cavaliers said today the video, shown during Wednesday's home game against the Chicago Bulls, "was intended to be a humorous spoof on a popular commercial."
In the video, the Cavaliers fan and the woman are dancing along to "Time of My Life" from the movie "Dirty Dancing" when -- mimicking a couple in the viral United Healthcare commercial -- the man tries to lift the woman into the air.
He then abruptly throws her to the ground. He chastises her for being a Bulls fan, as she lays injured.
The voiceover says, "Don't make the same mistake she made," and cuts to the couple sitting together. The man asks, "I thought you were all in?" and the woman -- with an icepack on her head -- says, "Well, I'm all in now."
The Cavaliers said in a statement today: "While the video was not intended to be offensive, it was a mistake to include content that made light of domestic violence."
The statement adds, "Domestic violence is a very serious matter and has no place in a parody video that plays in an entertainment venue. We sincerely apologize to those who have been affected by domestic violence for the obvious negative feelings caused by being exposed to this insensitive video."