Sometimes a kiss is just a kiss, and sometimes it requires an extreme explanation. This week, columnist
Pam Platt, who had posted a picture in the
Louisville Courier-Journal of two University of Louisville Cardinal’s basketball players in what looked like a kiss, was forced to explain the photo after numerous complaints from outraged fans.
In a game where the Cardinals basketball team outplayed the Kentucky Wildcats in the annual men's Battle of the Bluegrass, photographer
Sam Upshaw Jr. snapped a picture of Card’s
Jerry Smith hugging
Juan Palacios after an important play.
The picture was posted as the header for the article about the game, and fans wrote in apparently disgusted by the photo of two men that appeared to be kissing. In her column explaining the photo, Platt said that some of the responses included, "'Awful,' 'an embarrassment,' 'horrible decision,' 'poor judgment,' 'distasteful,' 'a mystery' and 'shame on you'.”
Now it is not apparent whether the complainers were offended that the magazine seemed to be capitalizing on a sensationalized photo, or if they were disgusted by the thought that two men may have accidentally touched mouths in a moment of excitement. What is clear is that Platt did not feel the need to apologize for the photo as much as she felt the need to explain why it was chosen.
In her follow-up article Platt stated, "What is it about two athletes sharing a moment of physical and emotional closeness in the middle of a big game, in the middle of a basketball court, that puts some people off so much?"
