It's irrelevant whether the statement was foolish or not. The media found it's chance to go after Rush, and they took it. He should have used better JUDGEMENT, knowing how much they despise him.
Such an easy thing it is to assert that Rush should have anticipated that the controversy ESPN wanted him to offer would be turned against him. Rush thought these were guys he could be honest with and have fun with. He was suckered into believing that they loved football as much as he does. The tape of the exchange would seem to bear that out - his view was supported by one or two of his colleagues. The drawing and quartering they did of Rush the following Sunday was a despicable (that's not quite a sufficient word to convey the vitriol for vitriol's sake that I heard) display of PC grandstanding and me-tooing. I know that many in sports journalism and commentary are left of center. I still thought they might be real men and might be real professionals. Sadly these guys surrendered any claim to either of these attributes with this episode as they stood in the studio while the sports journalists of Philadelphia made their mouths move.