How to complain to Sports Illustrated

By Tom Quiner

Carol Alt was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue nearly a third of a century ago.
Even she is shocked at the slippery slope that has transformed this publication into mainstream soft-core porn. She observes that the models are “certainly much sexier.” Even more,

“If you look at my cover, I look like a little boy. I’m wearing a little one-piece, I’ve got no breasts at all.”

As this blog  reported last week, the new cover features three enticing young ladies, each topless with their back turned to the camera. One is turned slightly sideways to give us a partial glimpse of her breast.
The ladies each have a hand resting on the derriere of one of their chums as they smile brightly into the camera. Ms. Alt was struck by how dramatically times have changed in such a relatively short period of time. Back then, the magazine would have received complaints. Not now:

“Today, you can have three girls touching each other and no one says anything” …

… except for Quiner’s Diner, and you, perhaps?
If you’re comfortable with the mainstreaming of soft-core porn, do nothing. You’re getting exactly what you want.
On the other hand, if you think Sports Illustrated has gone too far, make your voice heard. Share your thoughts at the Customer Service Scoreboard. Here’s one of the first comments I saw on the scoreboard:

“It is with great disappointment that I need to express my thoughts and feelings toward your 2014 cover of the swimsuit edition. It is pornographic and an insult to women to be shown in a fashion that is ungraceful and not modest. You took three beautiful women and defiled them. Shame on you all.”

Finally, why don’t you send an e-mail directly to their PR department:

si.com_press@timeinc.com

Make a difference. Make your voice heard.
Today.