The FBI field office in Portland, OR and the US Postal Inspection Service have asked for the public's help in identifying who is responsible for dozens of strange, threatening letters sent to broadcast/cable outlets, college athletic departments and individuals in a number of states. Some of the letters contained various powder substances, which the FBI Laboratory determined was a potentially harmful insecticide. The sometimes hard to follow letters complain primarily about TV camera crews focusing on close-ups of cheerleaders and female athletes, apparently convinced that the camera operators are seeking some sort of erotic gratification, but then they also complain that the only shots actually broadcast are of cheerleaders in long-sleeve, less-revealing outfits. The first batch of letters arrived last September bearing postmarks from Portland, OR. Others since have been postmarked in Seattle, WA and Chicago, IL. Anyone with information is asked to contact their local FBI office or call toll-free 886-915-8299. A 5K reward has been offered for information leading to the identification of the person or persons sending the letters.
Excerpts distributed by the FBI
"We are fed up with networks exploiting women in sports coverage. ABC/ESPN exploit collegiate and professional cheer squads in their coverage of football and basketball. They also screw WNBA players and WTA Tennis players. Compare coverage of cheer and dance squads based on their outfits they wear. Compare quality of shots, length of shots and number of shots Pigs park their cameras on us close up, front view, dozens of times each game, yet rarely ever show on TV in this manner, unless squads are wearing sweaters, jackets, under shirts, etc... Watch how they always zoom in on WNBA players shooting free throws then leave at the last second as she starts to shoot, disrupting the flow. Watch on ESPN how they will show women serve, close up, from every angle (side, back) EXCEPT when they zoom in close front, they will leave as she starts to serve, disrupting the flow. We have asked nicely for them to respect us and all women, yet they refuse. They exploit innocent people, so we will too. When they start respecting us, we stop mailing these out." (excerpt from September 2004 letter)
"For the past 6-7 years, ESPN and its nationwide networks have exploited cheer/dance teams all across the country. They do this by parking their TV cameras on these women for their own personal entertainment, but only give TV time to squads that wear long sleeved shirts, jackets, sweaters, etc. The squads that don't wear these types of outfits? They get EXPLOITED. For a long time we have warned ESPN the networks and several schools what would happen if this did not change. For the last 6 years, Ohio State cheerleaders have received more TV time than any other Division 1A cheer squad on ESPN, because they wear long sleeved red/white outfits. If they wore sleeveless outfits, they would not get ANY TV time. So, we are fed up with this constant exploitation." (excerpt from December 2006 letter)
