Limbaugh's NFL Bid In Limbo

As many of you know, Rush Limbaugh is part of a group attempting to purchase the St. Louis Rams of the NFL. If the bid is approved, it appears that Rush would be a limited partner who wouldn't be actually running the team. However, due to the fact that Rush is such a polarizing figure who's made several controversial statements, many people are opposing his bid to buy the Rams. Over the past few days, there have been racist quotes attributed to Rush that many (including him) are deeming false. Since there appears to be no way to prove their validity, I'm not including them here. If someone has planted racist quotes and falsely pinned them to Rush in an effort to smear him, that's flat out wrong and unfortunate because there are plenty of statements made by him over the years that can't be denied. Below are just a few of the gems that have come from the mouth of Limbaugh on his radio show:

Limbaugh's 2003 comments about Philadelphia Eagles QB Donovan McNabb:

"I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn't deserve. The defense carried this team."

On the recent beating of a white kid by two black kids aboard a school bus:

"It's Obama's America is it not? Obama's America white kids getting beat up on school buses now. You put your kids on a school bus you expect safety but in Obama's America the white kids now get beat up with the black kids cheering 'yeah, right on, right on, right on right on.' And of course everybody said the white kid deserved it he was born a racist, he's white.




On why blacks have failed to progress in the U.S.:

"We thought that it was just liberal welfare policies and all that that kept blacks from progressing while other minorities grew and prospered, but no, it is these wackos from Bill Ayers to Jeremiah Wright to other anti-American Afrocentric black liberation theologists with ACORN, and Barack Obama is smack dab in the middle of it, they have been training young black kids to hate, hate, hate this country, and they trained their parents before that to hate, hate, hate this country."

On feminism and Hillary Clinton's 2008 Presidential bid:

And if they -- you know, if Hillary doesn't get it -- you have to understand the mindset of a lot of these feminists and women. They think they're owed this -- just like Obama supporters think they're owed this. These women have paid their dues. They've been married two or three times; they've had two or three abortions; they've done everything that feminism asked them to do. They have cut men out of their lives; they have devoted themselves to causes and careers. And this -- the candidacy of Hillary Clinton -- is the culmination of all of these women's efforts. And if it gets stolen from them, in their minds -- not actually stolen, but if the country or if the Democrat [sic] Party rejects this wonderfully great, lying woman in exchange for a rookie, radical black guy who can't tell the time of day, they are going to be so miffed.

On Michael J. Fox's 2006 appearance in a political ad:

Now, this is Michael J. Fox. He's got Parkinson's disease. And in this commercial, he is exaggerating the effects of the disease. He is moving all around and shaking. And it's purely an act. This is the only time I have ever seen Michael J. Fox portray any of the symptoms of the disease he has. I know he's got it and he's raising money for it, but when I've seen him in public, I've never seen him betray any of the symptoms. But this commercial, he -- he's just all over the place. He can barely control himself.

Here are a couple of quotes from NFL players on the prospect of Limbaugh becoming an NFL team owner.

New York Jets linebacker Bart Scott:

I know I wouldn't want to play for him. He's a jerk. He's an ---. What he said (about Donovan McNabb) was inappropriate and insensitive, totally off-base. He could offer me whatever he wanted, I wouldn't play for him. ... I wouldn't play for Rush Limbaugh. My principles are greater and I can't be bought."

New York Giants defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka:

All I know is from the last comment I heard, he said in (President) Obama's America, white kids are getting beat up on the bus while black kids are chanting 'right on. I mean, I don't want anything to do with a team that he has any part of. He can do whatever he wants, it is a free country. But if it goes through, I can tell you where I am not going to play."

"I am not going to draw a conclusion from a person off of one comment, but when it is time after time after time and there's a consistent pattern of disrespect and just a complete misunderstanding of an entire culture that I am a part of, I can't respect him as a man."

To the best of my knowledge, none of the St. Louis Rams have come forward with their thoughts on the possibility of Limbaugh purchasing the team.

Of course, Rush has the right to purchase the team. Having said that, the NFL also has the right to block his bid. Part of me hopes the NFL does reject Rush because it would show him and the world that being a race baiting, sexist scumbag has its consequences. On the other hand, there are a couple of reasons why I hope he is allowed to buy the Rams. For one thing, we'd see whether or not any current or future St. Louis Rams who are anti-Limbaugh are willing to put money aside and stand up for their principles. Secondly, if the NFL does block his bid, it would allow Rush to pull the victim card out of his stacked deck and starting ranting about how he was done such a great injustice. The bottom line is that however this story plays out, Rush wins.