LAWRENCE, Kansas – Let me begin by making a couple things clear.

First, as most people who have read my blog, visited my sites, listened to my podcasts or followed my tweets would know, I have worked for CBS Sports off and on as a runner and tape logger since I was a sophomore in high school. (That’s 2001 for those not keeping score.)

Second, I am gay. I came out when I was 17, began to have some doubts when I was 20, and ultimately came out for a second time shortly after my 23rd birthday. Was I gay that entire time? Yes. Was I sure? No, but I am now. For me and practically every other person, sexual orientation isn’t just black and white, cut and dry. It’s nuanced and complicated.

So too is CBS’ criteria for accepting and rejecting Super Bowl commercials.

Super Bowls make up a majority of the top ten most watched programs in television history. In other words, the stakes are extremely high. And the decision to air or not to air is not taken lightly, and the network will almost always err on the side of caution.

That’s why, upon hearing that CBS had decided not to run a 30-second ad for ManCrunch, a gay dating site, I did the first logical thing and watched the ad. It’s poorly produced and unimaginitive. Seriously, I thought we were considered to be über creative. In half a minute, this company managed not to include a single frame of cleverness.

The set reeks of low budget with a simple living room, consisting mostly of a couch and a street sign-laden wall. The two men, who ultimately have a prolonged make out session, are each wearing NFL jerseys of teams that made the playoffs but not the Super Bowl–the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings. It’s worth noting that I’ve inferred all of these details as both the kiss and all NFL marks are covered up.

There have been a lot of iconic moments in Super Bowl ads. If we’re going to break the barrier of gay-targeted advertising on a major sporting event, I’d prefer it to be something truly memorable than some ham-handed attempt to fit in.

Based on quality alone, I too would have rejected it.

Then there’s the argument from members of the gay community that CBS must be homophobic if it refuses to air the commercial. That stance was further fueled by the network’s decision to approve a pro-life ad featuring former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow to be paid for by the Christian evangelical organization Focus on the Family, known also for its opposition to gay rights and support for ex-gay movements.

Regardless of whether or not I agree with what the group stands for, I agree that if it’s well produced, it deserves to be run.

In order to consider this in the most level-headed way possible, one must make the difficult but clear distinction between the ad itself and the entity funding the ad. CBS allowing an ad financed by a particular group is not an endorsement. As the network’s process dictates, CBS approved the submitted script but reserved the right to rescind its approval pending the final product. That same process did not apply to ManCrunch because it only submitted the final product.

CBS has relaxed its once stringent rules against advocacy ads and has gone so far as to encourage pro-choice and other groups to submit ads of their own. The ManCrunch ad is the wrong ad for the broadcast. It brings nothing to the table but shock value.

People have quickly forgotten that CBS allowed a Snickers ad on its last Super Bowl that featured two male mechanics nearly kissing and then ripping out chest hair in order to “do something manly” to counteract the kiss. (Did I mention it actually showed the near-kiss?) After the Super Bowl, the Snickers commercial was pulled in response to GLAAD and others lashing out at Mars for the content of the ad. Again, I was not offended in the least. I guess no good deed goes unpunished.

Let me explain something. I love sports and live television production. So, frankly, when I watch Super Bowl XLIV, I will be paying far closer attention to people like Peyton Manning, Reggie Bush, Lance Barrow and Mike Arnold than the commercials. Regardless, it’s still a big deal, and I get that.

But CBS is not a homophobic company.

In 2007, I interned in the CBS Sports Graphics Department in New York. Much of my time was spent in the CBS Broadcast Center, CBS Sports offices and the CBS corporate headquarters in Manhattan. I’ve heard plenty of gay slurs in my life, from both kids and adults. I’ve even heard a high-ranking athletics official at a large university in the Northeast utter such a word when referring to the network. But not once did I ever hear anything remotely homophobic at CBS, not even during live broadcasts when the pressure is tremendous and emotions run high.

In 10 years, I’ve met CBS executives, producers, directors, technicians and others. There isn’t a bad person in the bunch. It’s easy to criticize people you’ve never met and a company you’ve never seen from the inside. That’s simply not how CBS works.

Instead of calling for a boycott of the Super Bowl–which is absurd to begin with, why not encourage gay-friendly companies to produce better commercials? Then all they need is about $3 million, and we’ll get our commercial.

Filed under: Sports TV, Television