content on the front page of ESPN, so I shot him an email and he responded right back (or his staff responded right back in his name). Not much, but asked for age and state and said he was further exploring the issue.

Of course, I am a prudish "get off my lawn" geezer and am not enlightened like the under-30 crowd, so my viewpoint fits his findings.

But I strongly disapprove of ESPN posting nudity on the front page. I know there are those who view nudity as harmless and I will take people at their word that they are unaffected by nudity (doctors, godless liberals, etc.) and, as always, there will be those who mock and bully me for even expressing concern about the issue. But this is one of those rare issues where I take great confidence in knowing they are dead wrong.

To the majority of ESPN’s viewers—especially its many young viewers—the Body Issue images are highly sexual in effect even if not in intent and are appealing for prurient reasons. ESPN knows this and knows that presenting nude images on the front page will drive viewers to seek more images, which will increase viewership on other Body Issue content. They understand the power of the sexual drive and are intentionally tapping into those prurient instincts. It is sexual content in effect, even if not in intent. (And yeah, the nude photos may not depict sex, but their effect on most viewers is tantamount to the effect of viewing sexual content). ESPN's sexual content, by itself, won't corrupt the morals of our youth, but the cumulative effect of every media outlet in the country saturating its content with as much sexual content as it possibly can has created many of the problems we are in today.

ESPN and other media outlets often bemoan sexual violence, but nobody seems willing to moderate the over-saturation of sexual content in print, audio, and internet media. We have a bunch of kids bombarded with sex, and wonder why too many of them act out in unacceptable and sometimes even criminal ways. ESPN may be a very mild example, but now my kids cannot even go to ESPN without the risk of seeing nudity--and the cumulative weight of all that content has consequences.

I am not asking that the Body Issue be abolished (though I wouldn't mind if it did), but not on the front page please. And if the under-30 crowd disagrees, as the public editor states, tell them they are wrong and keep it off the front page.