The guys were out of town, most of the bosses were down in Florida for league meetings and I thought Tuesday would be a great day to write a blog and a story, do some paperwork, pitch the upcoming Martin Luther King Jr. Kids’ Day on Monday and jot down some ideas for the Shock home opener and the Pistons.

Boy, was I wrong….

I open The Detroit News and the American Decency Association has branded our recently released 2006 Automotion Swimsuit calendar as pornography and is demanding that we stop selling it. A supporter of the ADA is quoted as saying that the calendar is a “form of prostitution” and that the “Pistons are profiting from using women’s bodies…”

Red Flag…actually, HUGE Red Flag.

Then, on the front page of the News’ Pistons Rap section, some are questioning the decision to give Chauncey the ball in the last seconds of close games. And an ongoing rumor that Mike James is coming here for Carlos Arroyo.

Red Flag.

I turn to the Sports sections of the Detroit Free Press and The Oakland Press and read stories about Rasheed and the number of technical fouls he has amassed this year. Further in the story, they talk about how much it will cost him and review the NBA’s new policy on technicals, basically as a sliding scale for fines. If Rasheed does what he did last season, this season, he would miss several games due to suspension.

Red Flag.

Next to the ‘Sheed article in The Oakland Press, Pat Caputo is discussing the Darko Milicic situation and arguing that #31 should be getting more playing time…five minutes in the second quarter, or our investment in him is basically a waste.

Fourth Red Flag of the day and I haven’t even had coffee! Thank goodness we have the best record in the league…

I was THIS close to going back upstairs, jumping back into bed and pulling the covers over my head. Please, make it all go away…

However, being the trooper that I am, I quickly showered, dressed and was on the road to the office. Scanning the radio stations, I found that word was out about the article in the News about the Automotion calendar. The boys on WRIF were discussing it; Jamie and Brady on The Fan were talking about it; WXYT talked about it and Frank Beckman on WJR was promoting the fact that he was going to have the president of the American Decency Association on later that morning. Oh yes, there was a buzz.

When I got to the office, my assistant told me that she had heard Mojo on Channel 955 talking about it and said that they had called Rebecca Girard, our dance team director, and had her on the air talking about the controversy.

So much for a day of catching up and getting ahead on some projects. Everything, as they say, was put to the back burner.

You go somewhat into crisis mode in these instances. After all, your organization is under attack and being portrayed in a less than positive way, in a very public forum that reaches your exact demographic.

The rule is that you never discuss politics or religion…too many opinions and too many extremes. But this kind of story has great elements for every form of media. Beautiful girls in bikinis, in sexy poses, on a calendar, that is available for purchase in stores and online. An overtly Christian organization that is directed by a biblical worldview, openly characterizing the publication as pornography and mounting a campaign demanding the calendars be taken off the shelves.

Let’s talk about real-life drama…for many, it makes for good television, good radio and good news copy.

I’m not going to bore with the details of what you do from a public relations standpoint, but suffice it to say that the statement above, making for good television, good radio and good news copy, is the bottom line and you must ALWAYS remember that.

The ADA has an agenda and I’m sure they have someone who has a job similar to mine where they constantly think of ways to get the message of their organization out to the public. The more people you make aware of your organization and its message, the more people you have to draw support from. That’s pretty logical.

Bill Johnson, the president of the ADA, has started boycott campaigns against Abercrombie & Fitch, Victoria’s Secret, Disney and Howard Stern. His goals, and these are clearly outlined on the ADA Web site, are to eradicate the showing of nudity and sex on television, wipe out sexually suggestive magazine articles and covers shown in stores, clean up Stern, remove the teaching of sex education in schools and eradiate policies that promote homosexuality. Pretty heavy stuff.

I will be honest with you…I respect Mr. Johnson and his organization. I don’t agree with most of what he and his organization say, but I do respect it. Further, I respect his right to express these things and promote his views. I believe it is his First Amendment right. Again, I may not agree with his views or his beliefs, but that is MY First Amendment right.

What I absolutely DO NOT agree with is his characterization that the 2006 Automotion Swimsuit calendar is pornography. On the ADA site, Mr. Johnson has included the definition of the word pornography from Webster’s: material created for the purpose of eliciting a sexual response. This is such a broad brushstroke definition that it allows the interpreter to apply it to any number of things. I don’t like the characterization and I don’t like the association with such a “hot-button” word like pornography. I believe it is unfair and inappropriate in this case.

Look, there are lines of decency that are set. And each individual, based upon experience, beliefs or whatever, sets their own individual line. I get that. But if you were to draw a ratings scale from one to 10 where on the left end, at No. 1, it was least indecent and at the right end at No. 10 it was most indecent, I think the line you would mark for the Automotion Swimsuit calendar would be around 2.5.

Beautiful girls: yes. Bikinis: yes. Sexy: yes. Pornography: NO WAY.

So, we spent our days, Tuesday and Wednesday, talking to the media. Television came out to The Palace and Rebecca spoke with them. Radio called and Rebecca and I were interviewed live and taped. Every media outlet, to a person, agreed with our position and felt that this was an overblown topic.

But remember what I said about good television and good radio. Although most felt it was overblown, all wanted to talk about it.

To me, this was all very Shakespearean…Much Ado About Nothing.

By the way, since Monday, we have sold more than 300 calendars online. Most orders are coming from out of state and most are purchasing other merchandise with the calendar.

Thanks, ADA. I know the charities that our Pistons/Palace Foundation support will appreciate all the money that is being donated from the sale of the Automotion calendar.