Getty ImagesCBS is making some changes to their Thursday Night Football show amid the controversy surrounding Ray Rice's domestic abuse scandal and the way in which the Baltimore Ravens handled his punishment.
Last week, CBS and the NFL announced that Thursday Night Football would be debuting a new theme song by Rihanna, who was involved in a very public domestic violence dispute with ex-boyfriend Chris Brown back in February 2009. But following the release of a video showing Rice punching his wife, Janay, and his subsequent indefinite suspension from the NFL, Rihanna and Jay Z's hit song "Run This Town" will no longer play before tonight's kickoff, according to Sports Illustrated.
CBS also took out a comedy sketch that was set to be part of the show opener. Instead, CBS This Morning anchor Norah O'Donnell will appear on the pre-game show.
"It's important to realize we are not overacting to this story but it is as big a story as has faced the NFL," CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus told SI.com. "We thought journalistically and from a tone standpoint, we needed to have the appropriate tone and coverage. A lot of the production elements we wanted in the show are being eliminated because of time or tone."
The Baltimore Ravens while face off against the Pittsburgh Steelers tonight.