Groups Don't Want Pete to Rock This Town
Protests over Who's Townshend playing Miami Super Bowl
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Pete Townsend of the band The Who performs on stage during the 2009 Melbourne Grand Prix at Albert Park on March 29, 2009 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Pete Townsend
Pete Townshend and the Who's guitar smashing, ear-splitting antics may have rankled a lot of feathers back in the day, but it's the guitarist's recent online habits that have some pushing for him to stay away from the upcoming Super Bowl in Miami.
Citing Townshend's 2003 run-in with the law for child pornography, the group Child Abusewatch is petitioning the NFL to ban the aging rocker from the half time festivities at Super Bowl XLIV, according to the Palm Beach Post.
“Inviting Townshend to play is a blatant disregard to the values of . . . American families and a slap in the face to victims of child sexual abuse,” said AbuseWatch founder Evin Daly, in a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
Though Townshend, 63, was never arrested or charged, he was "cautioned" by police after he visited a Website that advertises kiddie porn.
On top of AbuseWatch's plea, Protect Our Children of Brevard has asked U.S. Immigration and Customs to bar the British national from entering the country.
“We’re part of a coordinated effort to prevent Mr. Townshend from coming into this country,” Protect Our Children's Kevin Gillick told the Post. “We acknowledge he was not convicted but he was on their sex offender list. In the United States, you’re on a sex offenders list for life."
The NFL said it's going to proceed as planned and let Townshend perform at the Feb. 7 event.
Posted Tuesday, Dec 22, 2009 - 1:39 PM EST
