Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) is pushing for cancellation of Esquire Network's Friday Night Tykes .
The reality series follows the lives of grade school football teams in Texas.
The Wrap reports that Durbin wants the show cancelled because he believes it "exploits these children for purely entertainment purposes."
"I call on you to immediately end this shameful, dangerous display on your network," Durbin said in a statement.
The NFL is currently facing numerous lawsuits from former players, who contend that the care they receive from the effects of concussions while playing in the NFL should be the NFL's responsibility.
Durbin has made it his mission to protect youth athletes with the creation of the Protecting Student Athletes from Concussions Act, which is backed up by many sports leagues, including the NFL.
"Young athletes are at the greatest risk for sports-related concussions, and we need to make sure we are doing all we can to protect them while they compete," Durbin said.
Esquire representatives have responded to Durbin's attempts to have the show taken off the air. They said the show does not exploit the lives of the children, but rather gives audiences an honest look at the culture of youth football.
"We believe Friday Night Tykes raises important and serious questions about parenting and safety in youth sports, and we encourage Americans to watch, debate and discuss these issues," the network said in a statement to The Wrap.
Friday Night Tykes airs on the Esquire Network Tuesday nights at 9 p.m.
Image: NBC
There has been a critical error on your website.<\/p>
Learn more about debugging in WordPress.<\/a><\/p>","data":{"status":500},"additional_errors":[]}