LIMBAUGH RESIGNS FROM ESPN SHOW

[BUSHdude2000]

ESPN REPORTING!

[Prodigal Son]

ESPN IS RUNNING AN ONLINE POLL.

Check McNabb is overrated because he black.

Why? Is that the truth?

[Fishtalk]

There was NO reason to bring up the media issue and McNabb's color. It's a FOOTBALL show, he could have talked all day long about poor performance

I've been hearing about all of this brouhaha and have listened and read with interest. I even paid close attention to Rush today when he spent a bunch of time justifying his comment. I loathe when Rush talks about football, maybe because I'm a woman and don't especially follow football. I consider Rush a political show and I want to hear politics damn it.

Now I hear that the man is over there on the football show talking the politics I want to hear on his radio show and well....

Frankly I'm disappointed in Rush. First because really, if Rush wasn't Rush wouldn't that rather stereotypical, conservative comment about the football player overhyped by the media for his color, been totally inappropriate and shocking?

What I'm trying to say here is that a big problem I have with this comment is that isn't exactly true

Isn't the sports arena, in the end, one of the more accurate areas for judging talent and skill? It is entirely possible, given humans and their prejudices, that the liberal press does hype Joe Football player more than he might deserve for any number of reasons, including the old bugaboo of promoting the underdog black player. But really, Rush, when the cows come home, doesn't Joe Football player's playing really settle the score, so to speak?

A simple "this guy's not playing as good as he should be to deserve the media hype he gets" would really have sufficed. That bit about the liberal press and the player's color was totally inappropriate in that broadcast setting.

Besides, I think Rush treated the American public exactly as he accuses the libs of doing....ie to TELL us what we should think. Because by carrying the thought out as he did makes the average guy shrug because we KNOW, we really KNOW Rush, that if the guy keeps playing bad he'll be outta there. Maybe NY Times reporters can keep their jobs a bit longer when hyped and protected by the libs but the sports stadiums are tough courtrooms.

Since the comment seemed so wrong the comment then seems too specious, too cleverly inserted. It could indeed and rightfully so, be interpreted as being racist.

It was dumb and Rush isn't dumb. I wonder what was he thinking.

[Fledermaus]

A quote from today's Rush show....

"Liberal sportswriters have pushed the notion that it's unfair that there haven't been more black quarterbacks, and I agree with that. I simply said that their desire for McNabb to do well caused them to rate him a little higher than perhaps he actually is."

[Havisham]

The ultras say we have to talk about race. Yeah, right. Second point: Rush, you naive dummy! You should never have taken the position.

[faithincowboys]

Here's an article from a regular espn contributor that discusses athletes and their race. Sadly, in our race obsessed culture the two are intertwined. Limbaugh is being persecuted by the Left--real sad.


What would Larry Bird say?
By Jason Whitlock
Page 2 columnist


So Ralph Nader, the consumer advocate, believes that LeBron James, the $90-million shoe endorser, should fight for the rights of third-world "sweatshop" workers.

Nader, in conjunction with the sports industry watchdog group League of Fans, wrote James and his representatives in April urging the hoop prodigy to "separate himself from Michael Jordan," the mother of all sneaker pitchmen, and support justice for exploited overseas factory workers.

Nader later told New York Times sports columnist Harvey Araton that, "People say it's unfair to burden an 18-year-old with demands of social consciousness. My answer is that he's not getting an 18-year-old's salary. This contract proves he has enormous bargaining power, a superstar's physical image."

Nader is right, of course. It isn't unfair to expect someone so young to fight for social and economic progress. The freedom that James enjoys today was partially earned by teenagers and 20-somethings of the 1960s -- the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee -- who fought for civil rights.

What is unfair is the double standard that is widely accepted when it comes to how we view the character of our modern-day sports celebrities. It seems that only African-American-born athletes are burdened with the demands of social consciousness.

Andre Agassi was never expected to follow in the footsteps of Arthur Ashe. Larry Bird never needed to be as righteous as Bill Russell. Roger Clemens doesn't have to match Jackie Robinson's class and courage. A Great White Hope isn't expected to be as important as Muhammad Ali. And no one, even before the Trial of the Century, demanded that O.J. Simpson match Jim Brown's commitment to helping America's youth. (Take your time. Read the last sentence again. It might take you a minute to catch the humor.)

Again, I'm not suggesting that Nader's request of James was wrong. I'm just wondering why there's rarely a push for non-African-American athletes to develop an agenda that goes beyond on-field performance. Michael Jordan is vilified and deemed a coward for keeping his mouth shut on controversial social issues. I can't remember anyone wanting to probe Larry Bird's mind about anything more important than "tastes great" or "less filling."

Look no further than the PGA Tour. We in the media want Tiger Woods to be a freedom fighter of Nelson Mandela proportions. Woods, who is only one-fourth African-American, is expected to speak out against racism, sexism, war and Phil Mickelson's refusal to wear a manbro. Meanwhile, the Tour's non-Cablanasian players need only worry about their games.

Is that fair? More important, is it counterproductive?

Shouldn't the majority community be pressured into having a collective social conscious? Do African-Americans own the moral high ground in America? Is that why the burden of a social conscious seems to fall in our laps?

I've often been disappointed that the majority community seems to be so willing to overlook injustices that occur right here at home. America's social ills -- racism, sexism, etc. -- could be stymied more effectively if the white men in power were asked to be as courageous as Ralph Nader wants LeBron James to be.

Jack Nicklaus could spark more change than Tiger Woods. When an African-American speaks out against injustice, too many people dismiss the complaint as just another black man crying the blues. What do you think would happen if Bill Parcells, who has made millions of dollars off the sweat of predominantly black football players, said it's shameful that these same players don't receive a fair opportunity when they move into the NFL coaching ranks or into front-office positions? You think Parcells words wouldn't carry more weight than Johnnie Cochran's or the New York Times' William C. Rhoden's?

Trust me, African-Americans -- with the possible exception of Jesse Jackson -- get tired of bitching. We'd like a month or two off. I'd love nothing more than to see our lawmakers make the month of March "White Social Consciousness Month." It would follow "Black History Month."

During March the president would ask all African-Americans, including Charles Barkley, to refrain from bitching about anything, and white men, particularly white sports celebrities, would be asked to lead the fight against racism, sexism and overseas sweatshops.

If white men cooperated and just fought against the obvious, blatant racism and sexism they witness on a daily basis, by mid-March Jesse Jackson would be out of work and flat broke, Martha Burk would disappear back into oblivion and you'd never read another column from me that addressed a racial issue.



Jason Whitlock is a regular columnist for the Kansas City Star (kcstar.com), the host of a morning-drive talk show, "Jason Whitlock's Neighborhood" on Sports Radio 810 WHB (810whb.com) and a regular contributor on ESPN The Magazine's Sunday morning edition of The Sports Reporters. He can be reached at ballstate0@aol.com.

[fishbabe]

is the daily news liberal like the new york times?????if it is, i would hate to be the person who gave drudge a bad news story and only helped the libs......

[over3Owithabrain]

To say the Media trumped McNabb up because he was black is not racist

No, it's not racist. But it was unnecessary and foolish in the context of discussing McNabb's on the field performance. ESPN as his employer has the right to dump him if they are going to catch hell for his remarks. Perhaps if Rush established himself on the show for a season or so, this may have went down better. But he came across as a political hack - the very thing he should have been trying to avoid for that gig. Again, it's not a matter of right/wrong or racist/not racist. He screwed up and paid the price. He seems willing to pay that price, I wish him the best.

[teletech]

If the leftists keep this up, and I know they will, all they will do is unite conservatives AND, I dare say, some independents and awaken a sleeping giant! These attacks WILL backfire because they will be seen for what they are, unsubstantiated allegations against conservatives. The RATS have NEVER been more scared than they are at this moment. They are about to lose the Governorship of their plumb state, they have NO VIABLE CANDIDATE for President, and more and more people in the US are beginning to see them for what they are - EVIL!

[dwd1]

I don't think we will every be 100% on anything and that is not necessarily bad.... I don't want to see Rush treated unfairly because he makes what some consider to be a mistake... The sad part about this whole thing is that he was doing a good job up to this point....

If he could check the politics at the door, he would have been very good at sports commentary...

[Valpal1]

If it was so inapropriate for Rush to say, so he resigns, why isn't inapropriate to run a poll on?

The hipocracy here is just over the top.

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

Rush made the same mistake... He should have been talking about sports

Bull! It was only unpopular in the north east! It was very popular in the South! Especially because Rush is high on Vic! So popularity had nothing to do with it. Besides the fans did it to the Dixie Chicks, not so in this case.

[ApesForEvolution]

The whole load, ESPN, Limbaugh, McDumba**, the communist media - all a bunch of major league wussies.

[dwd1]

I have to admit that I would have like to see him stand his ground because though he said something I dislike very much, I prefer to engage and have a dialogue...

I think it is sad that we are losing what could have been a very talented commentator...

[Space Dawg]

I wonder if the NFL itself had a say in the matter.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28772-2003Oct1.html

[jrawk]

He was sticking up for the Eagles Defense, go read the quote. A lot of that defense is black you know, yet McNabb got all the credit from the journalists.

Nothing racial here at all, maybe a left handed swipe at some writers, but he was sticking up for a lot of black guys when he said what he said. Don't fall in line with the liars on this one a parrot the "it was a stupid thing to say." It was a perfectly legitimate thing to defend the eagles defense and point out the "hype" over donavan.

-- lates
-- jrawk

[Havisham]

I thought the QB's remarks demonstrated a lot of class. I think Rush should say: Man, now that I know who you are, I take back everything I said.

[F16Fighter]

The margin for error, odds of misinterpretation, or feelings of ill will is extremely high regarding any social commentary regarding black athletes in the NFL or NBA by a sportscaster. Everybody on the planet knows it's taboo, even if such commentary is true.

He's certainly entitled to his opinion, and may have even made a point, but what made Rush pull this pin on ESPN? The jackals cannot believe their luck.

[Ramius]

The dirty truth is that Rush was right about this. That he was driven to resign only points this out in unmistakable fashion.

Thou shalt not speak ill of a black quarterback. Now that fact in completely clear.

This whole episode should be embarrassing to the whole of sports press, but they will of course acquit themselves of any responsibility in the matter.

[dwd1]

I think the Dixie Chicks were savaged by talk radio and many others and their FUTK thing was the last straw...

One could argue that NFL fans are instigating this attack against Rush...

He crossed the line and everyone here knows it....

He may or may not be a racist (though I think he is) but he could have done and should have known better....

[Fledermaus]

Rush's 2nd hour monologue today explains his view on this today.