Rush to judgement

 

“Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh’s been dropped from a group of investors who were trying to buy the St. Louis Rams, speculation was that Limbaugh was considered by the league to be too controversial, you know, unlike Michael Vick, Pacman Jones…Plaxico Burress” –Jay Leno, from his October 15, 2009 TV show monologue.

Six years ago, Limbaugh lost his job at ESPN’s Sunday Night Football when he criticized Philadelphia Quarterback Donovan McNabb as being overrated and the fabrication of a media “desirous that a black quarterback do well.”

Limbaugh, who normally spends his afternoons assailing liberal politics, recently resurfaced in the sports media when it was announced that he and business partner, Dave Checketts, had designs on purchasing the struggling St. Louis Rams football franchise.

Checketts, succumbing to pressure from the media, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, players and dissenting Indianapolis Colts Owner Jim Irsay, dumped Limbaugh from his consortium and effectively kiboshed any plans the fiery conservative had to acquire the NFL team.

Flash-forward to the present and Limbaugh’s comments about McNabb still sting in the minds of many African-Americans but at their core, I feel they were more a statement about media bias than racist. Limbaugh’s biggest offense was that his example was so tenuous since McNabb, as it turns out, is a superb quarterback.

But while the repercussions of McNabb-gate still taint Limbaugh’s reputation, I don’t believe they were the reason Checketts and his partners turned-tail on him.

No. I surmise that Limbaugh’s rejection was more about his politics not aligning themselves with much of the mainstream sports media than it was about his provocative racial remarks. Many of the NFL owners, like Limbaugh, tilt right of center in their political views but are squelched from voicing their opinions by a media culture that is largely intolerant of any speech that challenges the accepted norm of political correctness.

Meanwhile, Mark Cuban, the combative and unabashedly left-wing owner of the Dallas Mavericks, has upset many fans but apparently not enough to warrant him being stripped of his NBA franchise. Jay-Z, the rap star and part owner of the New Jersey Nets, has written less than flattering lyrics about white folks but is at no risk of being rebuked by NBA Commissioner David Stern as Limbaugh was by Roger Goodell.

Still, despite being bombastic and offending many as he does on a daily basis, Rush Limbaugh should still be allowed to buy an NFL team if he so chooses.

Stymieing his entrance into the exclusive country club of pro football owners because of his politics seems eerily similar to the discriminatory policies the NFL wisely distanced itself from years ago.