by Anthony Kennerson
This may not be as serious an issue as The Condom Wars in porn, but it is still pretty intense….if not hilarious.
The Internet is screaming right about now over the National Basketball Association’s attempt today to drop their big old hammer down on two porn performers, Sara Jay and Angelina Castro — both members of Vicky Vette’s “Vette Nation Army” network of porn sites — for their chosen method of celebrating this year’s Miami Heat winning the NBA championship. Angelina is a Miami native, a transplanted Cuban emigre, and probably the most well endowed Heat fan there is; Sara is more or less an enthusiastic fellow traveler (and equally, errrr, blessed up front…and back).
The fun started when Angelina and Sara decided back in April to put their mouths where their Heat fanaticism is, and made a bold promise to their Twitter followers: if the Heat would go on to win their first championship, then the two strumpets would offer free blowjobs to any follower willing to make the trip there. Considering that both had strong Twitter followings even before they made this challenge (>200K for Sara, >100K for Angelina), it may have seemed to be just another publicity stunt doomed not to come to fruition.
And, while the Heat were favored to win their first crown, since they had the trio of Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh to lead them, the history of the promise of mass pleasure for fans of porn girls had not been too kind. The first instance occurred back in 2010 when Bobbi Eden (now another VNA girl) promised to share her oral skills with her followers if her native Norwegian soccer team managed to beat England in the World Cup futbol finals. Unluckily (or luckily), it didn’t come to pass at that time. Then, you had now retired performer and devoted Pittsburgh Steelers fan Diamond Foxxx attempting the same template for routing for her Men of Steel to beat the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLVI. Didn’t pan out then, either.
Let’s just say that history was against Sara and Angelina..but when the Heat knocked off the Oklahoma City Thunder 4 games to 2, history gave way to the thrill of victory…and the agony of “OMG, we gotta pay up now!!!”
Give credit where credit is due…they did just that…planning and organizing their brash bet into what ultimately was planned to be an one-day hummerfest, where followers ranked in seniority, paid site members, and even Miami Heat staff and players, were invited to get in on the fruits of their successful labor. No publicity stone was unturned: a website (teambjnba.com) and a Twitter ID (@teambjnba) was set up and promoted, a venue and date was set, and the girls were preparing themselves eagerly for the mass of dickage. Nothing could go wrong….right??
Problem was, someone tipped off the NBA brass..and they weren’t too happy.
Like most professional leagues built on their corporate “brand” and jealous of their copyright, the NBA tends to be pretty damn hypersensitive about others using their likeness or their labels. Mostly, it’s about monopolizing the money stream…but there may also be a bit of Puritanism and maintaining their “image” as well. Right, as if most NBA fans aren’t also porn fans, or that there isn’t already a connection between the more open sex lives of NBA players and the sexual entertainment industry. Remember Wilt Chamberlain??
Anyways, the NBA decided to once and for all put the cockblock on this blowbang distortion of their image. Here’s a quote from the letter that their trademark people (NBA Properties) sent to Angelina and Sara (and probably also to Vicky Vette, the Head General in charge of the VNA network, too):
“It has come to our attention that [you] are using NBA Intellectual Property without authorization, including on the website http://www.teambjnba.com and Twitter page https://twitter.com/#!/teambjnba (collectively the “Websites”), to promote an event by including references to the Miami Heat and its players. The Websites incorporate the ‘NBA’ trademark in the domain name and account name and prominently feature NBA Intellectual Property — including the Heat team logo.
“Furthermore, NBAP has confirmed [you are] using a photograph depicting the likeness of Heat players Chris Bosh, Lebron James, and Dwyane Wade without their authorization and in violation of their rights. [Your] unauthorized use of NBA Intellectual Property is an attempt to capitalize on the fame and goodwill of NBA Intellectual Property and tarnishes the reputation of the NBA and the Heat. NBAP has not authorized [You] to use NBA Intellectual Property in any way and [Your] unauthorized use; therefore, constitutes among other things, trademark infringement, trademark dilution, false association, and unfair competition.”
The letter then went on to call for the girls to cease and desist all mention of the “TeamBJNBA” motto, to shut down the TeamBJNBA.com website, and give up control of the @TeamBJNBA Twitter account to the NBA. And it specifically stated a deadline of July 9th, this coming Monday, in order to avoid direct legal action.
Now, who knows if James, Wade, Bosh, or any other Miami Heat players or staff really gives a rat’s ass about two porn performers/fangirls deciding to celebrate their team’s championship in their own way. They’re too busy basking in their glory, I figure. My guess is that the NBA is simply (over)reacting as a means of protecting their “image” for the more prudish of their fans, and protecting their “brand” as a profit generator.
The reaction from Sara and Angelina to the NBA going all No Fun League was swift, to say the least. This from XBiz.com:
“This was all supposed to be fun. I supported the Heat and sent them tons of followers during the season. Can’t they let us fans like us have a little fun? The NBA’s slogan is ‘Where Amazing Happens’… if offering 300,000 followers free oral sex isn’t amazing, I don’t know what is,” Jay said.
Castro added, “As anyone knows who follows my Twitter, I lived and breathed Miami Heat basketball all year. I am upset they are taking the fun out what we are trying to do. No one thought we were going to go ahead with the event. We aren’t hurting anyone. Does NBA stand for ‘No BJ’s Allowed?'”
A representative for the stars said they are in the process of determining a response by the NBA’s July 9 deadline.
My guess is that the blowbang goes on as scheduled, just under a different handle so that not to upset the NBA beancounters’ hurt fee-fees. And of course, nothing beats free publicity, anytime….as if Sara Jay and Angelina Castro needed any that their bodacious racks and extended bootys and insatiable sexual appetites didn’t already merit.
Source: Blog Of Pro Porn Activism
