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Opinion

Wii contest holders deserve jail time

Christian Palmer 
Opinion Columnist 

Nintendo's newest console caused much commotion since, and even before its Nov. 17 release. Now, Reuters Life! is telling us that Wii game play can actually affect weight loss. In an interview with Reuters, a man from Philadelphia claimed to have lost nine pounds after six weeks by adding a 30-minute session of vigorous game play to his daily routine. 

Not only has this experiment been good for his health, but it could end up being great for his pocket book. One Web fitness program has already sought his assistance in creating "Wii workouts" and rumors are starting to circulate that Nintendo may soon put out a game with exercise as the theme.

For years, it has been said that game play helps to sharpen young (and more recently older) minds. Now there is a chance to diminish young and older waistlines alike. Perhaps health was on Sacramento mother Jennifer Strange's mind when she entered a radio contest called, "Hold Your Wee for a Wii," in which contestants were to see who could drink the most water without having to answer nature's call.

Unfortunately, Strange became a casualty of Nintendo's otherwise genius marketing plan when she died of water intoxication.

After the fatality, ten members of KDND-FM were fired and the "Morning Rave" program that sponsored the dangerous contest was cancelled. The action might seem a bit extreme, but when knowledge that the disc jockeys knew of the potential danger drinking obscene amounts of water can cause, just firing those "responsible" seems like a mere slap on the wrist. 

Luckily, Strange's family has now brought suit against the radio station. 

If sufficient evidence is found that the DJs are legally responsible for Strange's death, the tragic accident could become a criminal affair with jail time attached. 

"The station knew this was a dangerous and potentially deadly stunt, but flippantly dismissed the dangers," Strange's family's lawyer Roger Dreyer said in a statement. "Hearing the tape (of the radio show), it's very clear they knew of the dangers and could foresee that this could lead to Jennifer's death."

With statements such as this on the record and plenty of audible evidence featuring the DJs mocking the contestants in their hyper-hydrated states and even going so far as to refer to previous fatalities from drinking too much water, hopefully this will be a slam dunk for the prosecution. 
 

Send comments to dccampus@mail.uh.edu