Tuesday, February 22, 2011

NFL says no to hearing aid charity because it used gambling to raise funds

From ShowBiz411:


The National Football League must have something against charity. On Saturday afternoon about 25 players turned up for the Starkey Hearing Foundation’s big poker for charity blitz at the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas.

Big name celebrities like Steve Martin–who flew himself in and paid all his expenses– as well as Starkey stalwarts like the original “Incredible Hulk” Lou Ferrigno and “Soul Man” Sam Moore–pitched in as well.

The NFL players were supposed to be scattered around the room at their own tables. All the money raised went to Starkey event,Raise Your Hand for Africa. Starkey is a Minneapolis-based foundation that brings hearing aids for free to children and adults around the world.

But then NFL got wind of what was happening, they issued an edict right away that the players were not allowed to participate. They could just watch. And they did – cheering on the event.