19-year-old NBA rookie Bradley Beal featured in the Washington Wizards “Bar Tour” and beer night promotion earlier this month (Nov. 2012)
Ah, sports! Where stadiums, race cars, and championship trophies are adorned with (or filled with, ask reigning NASCAR champ Brad Keselowski) alcohol and beer logos. While your humble blog-a-saurus is not a big fan or supporter of boozing in general…I understand the enjoyment of kicking back a cold brewski while watching your favorite sport live.
So, the Washington Wizards (struggling NBA franchise in our nation’s capital) decided to capitalize on the combination of beer and basketball with a Budweiser promotion and “Bar Tour” night, with discounted beers ($2 each!! Death to the $8-10 stadium beer!!) at the arena’s numerous bars. To promote this event, they posted pictures, flyers, and billboards using their top rookie Bradley Beal in the ads. Beal is the future of the Wiz franchise after being the #3 pick in this year’s NBA draft. The 6’4″ shooting guard has a skill set the Wizards hopes fills seats for many years to come. However, they overlooked one small detail in their haste to bring in crowds and money. Beal entered the NBA after only one season of NCAA ball with the Florida Gators. He should be a sophomore in college. He is 19-years-old.
That’s right. The Wizards are using a 19-year-old to sell their beer. Doesn’t really sound right, does it?
This phenomenon will not go away as the age of professional athletes at the cusp or in the fire of stardom has plummeted. With young athletes having access to professional pay and media attention so early, guys like LeBron James, Anthony “The Brow” Davis, and others become household names before they are even old enough to drink. Being surrounded by a business that is so heavily involved and supported by alcohol and beer sales will make this interesting moving into the future. Should teams be allowed to use teenagers to promote their age-restricted products? Should Justin Bieber sell us cigarettes? (sorry for the random Beebs drop)
The Wizards apologized for the add and removed it from wherever they could, but the simple lack of attention to detail (or lack of care?) has brought up a subject that pro teams throughout sports must remember and contemplate before making some decisions with the beer bigwigs. With alcohol abuse and underage drinking so prevalent and uncontrolled in our society, is using a 19-year-old role-model and icon to sell beer the right moral and ethical move?
alaskasportsnerd 