NFL suing M.I.A $1.5 million over Super Bowl “obscenity”

M.I.A will “go public” over the NFL’s continued attempts to sue her for $1.5million over an “obscene” gesture made at last year’s Super Bowl, according to her lawyer.

The case dates back to 5 February 2012, when M.I.A flipped the bird (see above) during her halftime show performance of ‘Give Me All Your Luvin”, alongside Madonna and Nicki Minaj, watched by around 112 million viewers. The football body- which last year saw a tidy $9.5billion in revenue- claims that the rapper breached her performance contract and tarnished its “goodwill and reputation” by making the gesture “in flagrant disregard for the values that form the cornerstone of the NFL brand and the Super Bowl.”

Fast forward 18 months, and the NFL is still pursuing the case, with its own legal team pressing for it to be brought to trial. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, M.I.A’s lawyer Howard King said his client would “go public with an explanation of how ridiculous it was for the NFL and its fans to devote such furore to this incident, while ignoring the genocide occurring in her home country and several other countries, topics she frequently speaks to.”

Turning the spotlight on the NFL, King hit out at “the weekly felonies committed by its stars, the bounties placed by coaches on opposing players, the homophobic and racist comments uttered by its players, the complete disregard for the health of players and the premature deaths that have resulted from same.”

Fans and supporters were urged to “submit their examples of how the actions of the NFL, its stars, coaches, advertisers, broadcasters, team doctors and owners have damaged or destroyed any vestiges of any reputation for wholesomeness ever enjoyed by the NFL.” King said that any such information can be sent to M.I.A’s legal team at NFL@khpblaw.com.

He also noted that halftime shows carry with them a 7 second broadcast delay, and so “either the operator fell asleep or the gesture was so fleeting he never saw it.” The 2012 Super Bowl, the forty-sixth edition of the annual end-of-season contest, was broadcast by NBC.

“Until now,” said King, “we had reluctantly remained quiet in the hopes of not becoming subject to the whims of 28 rich NFL owners who wanted to crush this brown, outspoken young lady, especially since they are making her life miserable for the cost of a 30-second spot in one of this weekend’s secondary games. But ultimately, we could not be forced into the type of public apology demanded by the NFL.”

M.I.A’s new record, Matangi, will be released on 5 November. Listen to ‘Come Walk With Me’ here.

Perhaps next year’s halftime headliner, Bruno Mars, will cause the NFL less of a headache.