At last night’s playoffs match against the Chicago Bulls, the Cleveland Cavaliers aired an arena video that rubbed many of their fans the wrong way.
In the video, a couple attempts to reenact the famous dance scene from 80s cult classic Dirty Dancing. Mid routine, the man tosses his girlfriend after he realizes that she’s rooting for the Bulls instead of the Cavaliers.
The commercial concludes with the couple sitting on the sofa while the woman holds an ice pack on her head.
“When it’s playoff basketball time, you have to be all in. So don’t make the same mistake she made,” a man says in a voiceover.
“I thought you were all in,” the actor says to his pretend girlfriend, who ditched her Bulls t-shirt for a Cavaliers one.
“I’m all in now. Let’s just watch the game.”
It was obvious that the team was trying to put their own spin on a popular United Healthcare commercial that depicts a similar scene—minus the domestic violence nod, of course—but this clearly went horribly wrong.
Earlier today, a spokesperson for the Cavs released a statement of apology regarding the video. It reads:
During a timeout at last night’s Cavaliers vs. Bulls playoff game at The Q in Cleveland, we ran a 1-minute in-arena video that was intended to be a humorous spoof on a popular commercial centered on a song and dance from the classic movie ‘Dirty Dancing.’ While the video was not intended to be offensive, it was a mistake to include content that made light of domestic violence.
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.
The Cavaliers organization has a strong and lengthy track record of supporting domestic violence-related causes and efforts. We will continue to proudly work with our regional partners at the Domestic Violence & Child Advocacy Center in support of their numerous programs to end domestic violence in our country once and for all.
Check out Cavaliers’ in-arena video and the United Healthcare commercial that inspired it on the next page. Let us know your thoughts.
