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WATCH: NBC removes video of female Olympians after backlash

Well, they can always sell the footage to Maxim’s website.

A video NBC put on its Olympics page to honor female athletes in the London Games has since been removed for objectifying physically the very competitors they were hoping to honor, according to a report by the Huffingtin Post.

The video, with the unfortunate title “Bodies in Motion,” shows slow-motion clips of scantily, attractive female athletes from the Olympics, most of them in compromising positions. It’s set to a jazz riff that is reminiscent to porn music and has drawn a backlash from places like Jezebel and ThinkProgress. The video focuses on the athletes’ breasts, butts and midriffs.

“Where are the women's boxing highlight reels?” Jezebel’s Erin Gloria Ryan writes. “What about women's weight lifting? What about any sport that doesn't bare midriffs, décolletage, ass cheek bottoms? Was the network having a contest to see which video producer could patch together the most embarrassingly juvenile highlight reel?”

Added ThinkProgress’ Alyssa Rosenberg: “It’s an error of editorial judgement, packaging women doing their jobs, which happen to be entertaining, as if they’re eye candy. As NBC reassesses its coverage in preparation for the next games, ‘Bodies in Motion’ should be a prime example of where the network’s judgement failed.”

These Olympics have been marked by women’s achievements – from the “Fierce Five” U.S. gymnastics team winning gold to Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jenning earned their third straight title to swimmers like Missy Franklin and runners like Allyson Felix taking home multiple gold medals.

About the Authors

  • London 2012 Olympics

    MARK CANNIZZARO

    Mark Cannizzaro is a Senior Sports Writer who's been with The Post since 1993. Cannizzaro, who was Jets beat writer for 18 years, now writes columns, news and features with an emphasis on football and golf, covering other sports as well. He carries a 10 handicap on the golf course, is the reigning "Doc Rot" champion of the annual sports department golf tournament, and prides himself as the 2010 winner of The Post's Bettor's Guide NFL picks.

  • London 2012 Olympics

    MARC BERMAN

    Marc Berman has been covering the Knicks since 1998, after serving as Islanders beat writer for a year when he joined the Post. He’s also covered U.S. Open tennis, and authored "Living Without Ew: The Crash of the Post-Ewing Knicks." The APSE award winner and SUNY-Albany graduate covered Phil Jackson, Bill Musselman and George Karl as Albany Patroons beat writer.

  • London 2012 Olympics

    MIKE VACCARO

    A columnist for the Post since November 2002, Mike Vaccaro has reported from four Olympics, 12 World Series, 10 Super Bowls, eight Final Fours and five U.S. Opens, among the hundreds of events he has covered in his 20-year newspaper career. His "Open Mike" and "Vac’s Whacks" are regular Sunday features, and he has written three books, the latest -- "The First Fall Classic," about the 1912 World Series between the Giants and Red Sox -- is out Oct. 6.

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