This is seriously wrong !!

[kidzero]

could be but it goes around the world now...in germany we had a tv-report and it was HUGE in the newspapers this week...and this in a land that was just about to ban PB 2 years ago...this is really serious cause our government could take this case up again cause it would be a nice pre-election PR-thing to ban such "a disgusting thing" in "our beloved country" *sick*. i cant believe how unresponsible some fools act all the time...but of course guys like that give a f*ck for what could happen somewhere else on the planet...its soooooo sad!

 

[cgrieves]

While we all do the typical kneejerk thing here, stand back and proclaim our disgust and horror, remember that it's differnt strokes for different folks. It's easy for us to call for this to be banned, but (in the event that this isn't a hoax) the women are in no way forced to participate, they are well paid ($1000 if they are hit, $2500 if they are not), they are all adults, and nobody is forcing you to buy the video.

Hell, I would definitely run around naked and take a few hits for $2500 (some would say I would do it for $25, but I'm not admitting it!)

And remember, we as paintballers might find this disturbing and unsafe, but that's how a lot of the public still see paintball in general, so it would be slightly hypocritical to call for a ban on this sort of activity, but complain if the general public tried to ban paintball. You have to see it from all angles.

 

[Mark]

Ok more updates the organisor has now "admitted" it was a hoax, at least he now has a law suit pending ....but has the damage now already been done? See the German Press reaction above..politicians and election hype?

Update Link

 

[bcballer]

well...

Quote from me a week and a half ago:

"I think that there have been some "Hunting sessions" for the video that may have been staged, but whether this is something that is going on everyday with people flying in from all over the world to take part is doubtful.
Seriously, if these hunts were happening frequently obviously he would be facing a lawsuit pretty quickly, and I'm sure he has no insurance for what he is doing.
I think what he is really after is the money from the video sales and the merchandise that you can conveniently purchase online."

Newest update:

"Las Vegas officials investigated, and said Burdick admitted that the safaris were just a hoax intended to promote the "Hunting for Bambi" (search) videos that Burdick sells."

I'm glad that I was right in the sense that girls weren't in any real danger injury, but do you guys think that this will have any lasting effect on the sport in terms of the public (and lawmakers) perceptions. Remember that the initial story got way more coverage than the story that it was fake. As a field and store owner it's sometimes hard to gauge these types of stories as being negative or whether "any advertising is good advertising". Any thoughts? Seems the media only looks at paintball when it's these types of dramatic stories (paintball drivebys etc.) which kind of sucks

 

[cgrieves]

I don't think it'll have to negative an impact, let's face it most of the reaction to this story was due to the lack of safety equipment, which goes to show that most of the public are aware that paintball is a safety conscious sport.

On the other hand until paintball becomes an established sport featured at events such as the X-Games (which, let's face it, has to be on the cards) or maybe even the Olympics, it will always have a kind of "underground rebel" reputation. For all the millions who have done their punter days and experienced the reality, there are tens of millions who have no idea what it's all about. Getting proper paintball events pasted all over the telly is the way forwards. (Unfortunately as all the big corporate sponsors get involved it could also sound the death knell of people like you and me playing worldwide events like the Millenniums, but that's another issue).

 

[whitecross]

well there you go, a 1000$ fine and 6 mths jail, probably only get the fine and the amount of dvds and vids he sold would cover that very easily, 3weeks in the public eye, and its all over.