Based on the FCC's regulations, it's hard to see the federal agency taking any action against radio stations that broadcast UNC basketball coach Roy Williams' F-word in a postgame news conference Wednesday night, even if the FCC receives complaints about it.
It's a violation of federal law to air obscene programming at any time and indecent or profane material during certain hours, according to the FCC's web site. Williams' F-word appears to fall under the agency's definition of "profane" — “Profane language” includes those words that are so highly offensive that their mere utterance in the context presented may, in legal terms, amount to a “nuisance.” In its Golden Globe Awards Order the FCC warned broadcasters that, depending on the context, it would consider the “F-Word” and those words (or variants thereof) that are as highly offensive as the “F-Word” to be “profane language” that cannot be broadcast between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m."
Or, as the FCC explains in a segment on the date and time of the broadcast: "Indecent or profane speech that is broadcast between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. is not actionable."
UNC's victory over N.C. State ended at approximately 9:50, and the coach's postgame news conference did not begin until about 10 p.m. Almost certainly, he dropped the F-bomb in response to a reporter's question a few minutes after 10 p.m.
An interesting footnote: In early November, lawyers for Fox television stations and the FCC managed to make about an hour's worth of oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court over the broadcast of profane words without once using one. The transcript reportedly included 16 "F-word" references, one "F-bomb" and six mentions of the "S-word."
The case concerns whether broadcasters can be fined for allowing the use of so-called fleeting expletives, which are swear words used in passing. The Fox stations claim the FCC acted "arbitrarily and capriciously" in changing its policy about indecent language in 2004. Soliciter General Gregory G. Garre, representing the FCC, argued that loosening indecency standards could lead to "Big Bird dropping the F-bomb on 'Sesame Street'."
A court decision is expected in June.
