A Sega-sponsored graffiti contest is drawing fire from the mayor of San Francisco. The office of Mayor Willie Brown is attacking Sega, which is sponsoring the graffiti contest as a promotion for its upcoming
Jet Grind Radio title, on the grounds that the contest undermines the city's efforts to stamp out graffiti. "I don't take issue with graffiti art, but I take issue with vandalism," said a spokesperson for the mayor, "If you look at Sega's posters for the event and look at their game, they're blurring the line and glorifying vandalism." For its part, Sega argues that its contest promotes non-destructive art. "I think we've taken many steps to market this product responsibly," said a Sega spokesperson, "There is lots of room in San Francisco for graffiti as an art form." Sega's graffiti art contest takes place October 21 in San Francisco, the same day as a semi-annual trash and graffiti clean up day sponsored by the city.
