Promotions under criticism at Thomas & Mack

Tim Graham

Friday, Feb. 20, 1998 | 1:22 a.m.

It's not quite a gentleman's cabaret, but there is T&A at the T&M.

Whether it's UNLV basketball or the Las Vegas Thunder, all fans -- men, women and children -- routinely are exposed to scantily clad women during breaks in the action at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The more seductive females in attendance are shown jiggling and gyrating on Si Redd Vision, the T&M's in-house video scoreboard. And voluptuous contestants are trotted out on the court and the ice for various promotions.

One such contestant sparked a spirited discussion within UNLV's sports marketing department this week.

At least two female staff members expressed disgust over the exploitation of a woman selected to run around during a promotion at Monday night's UNLV-New Mexico game.

"It stirred huge debate," T&M assistant director Steve Stallworth said. "The crux of it was how this person was chosen. Was it because of her anatomy? Or was it a legitimate reason?"

The unidentified woman took part in the 360 Powerball Drop, in which she chased down beach balls dropped from the T&M rafters to win free 360 Communications cellular phone service.

The woman -- described by one courtside reporter as a "Crazy Horse refugee" (in reference to a Las Vegas topless nightclub) -- allegedly did not want to compete in the promotion but was encouraged by her boyfriend.

ESPN, which broadcast the game to a national TV audience, replayed a segment of the woman's performance -- a highly unusual move -- when it returned from a commercial break. She did not come close to catching any of the balls.

"The sponsors want to be noticed," Stallworth said. "I know 360 Communications was real pleased with it."

But many others were not.

"I've received a couple letters (in the past), saying that we're getting away from the college game atmosphere," UNLV athletic director Charlie Cavagnaro said.

While Stallworth agreed that sex is used to titillate male-dominant crowds at sporting events, especially in the professional ranks, he defended this instance as coincidental.

"Our only criteria in picking contestants is to pick somebody who has a chance of winning," Stallworth said. "And we don't want to pick somebody who doesn't want to do it."

For most of UNLV's on-court basketball promotions -- there are four or five per game -- contestants are provided by the sponsors. Contestants from the 360 Powerball Drop, however, supposedly are selected from random among fans who sign up at the game.

"Sometimes something falls through and we have to get somebody," Stallworth said. "In fact, we sometimes have to make a concerted effort to get more women because we get complaints that we don't get enough of them. We want to mix it up as much as possible between men and women."

UNLV isn't the only Las Vegas sports entity that has been accused of using sex as a diversion.

A couple of seasons ago, the Las Vegas Thunder caused a disturbance and lost season ticket holders when it hired topless dancers to compete in a bikini contest between periods of a hockey game.

The Las Vegas Stars discontinued its water balloon toss because too many baseball fans took offense. The model contestant was an attractive woman in a white top, whose challenge was to catch balloons without breaking them.

The event inevitably turned the game into Wet T-shirt Night at Cashman Field.