Sports media gang-tackle Limbaugh's bid to buy St. Louis Rams
On October 6, Rush Limbaugh released a statement confirming that he and St. Louis Blues owner Dave Checketts "have made a bid to buy the [NFL's St. Louis] Rams and are continuing the process." In response, numerous sports journalists and figures -- including contributors to ESPN, where Limbaugh was briefly employed -- have criticized the idea of Limbaugh as an owner, often noting Limbaugh's history of racially incendiary remarks.
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Limbaugh makes bid for Rams
From an October 6 Los Angeles Times blog post:
In a statement released today, Limbaugh said he's partnering with St. Louis Blues owner Dave Checketts in a bid to buy the St. Louis Rams. Limbaugh didn't go into details, but said he and Checketts "have made a bid to buy the Rams and are continuing the process."
It's unclear whether Limbaugh and Checketts will try to buy the team outright or purchase a majority or minority stake in it. Georgia Frontiere's children own a 60% stake in the team, and billionaire Stan Kroenke owns a 40% stake.
Sports journalists and figures blast idea of Limbaugh as NFL owner
CBSSports.com's Freeman: "My head exploded after hearing this Limbaugh news. ... Limbaugh is a pungent bowl of stark raving bigoted lunacy." In his October 7 column, CBSSports.com national columnist Mike Freeman wrote that his "head exploded after hearing this Limbaugh news," adding that Limbaugh as an owner would "undermine everything the NFL has worked decades to accomplish" with regard to racial diversity:
Limbaugh is a pungent bowl of stark raving bigoted lunacy. He'd be a dream to cover. But for the NFL, Limbaugh as an owner would be as comfortable as a colonoscopy with a periscope. It'd be one of the great nightmares for the sport.
The league has made significant strides in putting its horrid racial past behind it. The NFL isn't perfect on the issues of ethnicity but it tries.
Allowing Limbaugh, who plays the song "Barack the Magic Negro" on his radio show, a seat at the owner's table would instantly undermine everything the NFL has worked decades to accomplish.
WashingtonPost.com's McCardell: "Limbaugh would definitely hurt" the Rams, "the way he talks makes me think he's a racist." In an October 7 post on WashingtonPost.com, former NFL receiver Keenan McCardell wrote that "Limbaugh would definitely hurt the St. Louis Rams if he bought the team. I can only judge what he says on the radio -- but the way he talks makes me think he's a racist." McCardell added:
The NFL is a dominant black league and it's tough to say that a guy who speaks his mind as much as he does with a locker room that's 60% minority would get players' respect. If I were a free agent it would be really hard for me to want to play for him. He'd have to show me that he's a different person. The coach would also have to convince me that this was about football and not politics.
All the players would remember what he said about Donovan McNabb -- what got him fired from ESPN. It's a crazy thing, but it's hard to change what you said once you said it -- hard to get guys to forget and trust again. Sometimes your words speak louder than what you're trying to do.
WashingtonPost.com's Oben: "I'm not sure what's lower: Rush Limbaugh's approval rating in the African American community or JaMarcus Russel's [sic] passer rating." In an October 7 post on WashingtonPost.com, former NFL offensive lineman Roman Oben wrote that "I thought it could not be worse for the St. Louis Rams than being 0-4; I was wrong ... I'm not sure what's lower: Rush Limbaugh's approval rating in the African American community or JaMarcus Russel's passer rating." From Oben's post:
I'm not sure what's lower: Rush Limbaugh's approval rating in the African American community or JaMarcus Russel's passer rating. But in a league of professional athletes who are mostly African American and come from humble backgrounds, a Limbaugh-owned Rams team would neither elicit the warmest reception by the players in the locker room, nor would it attract the free agent who is weighing options on his NFL future.
Anyone who has made a living bashing political leaders and their policies by vicious and unethical personal attacks, accused actor Michael J Fox of "exaggerating the effects of Parkinson's disease," made racially-charged comments about Donovan McNabb's ability as a black quarterback and hypocritically called for harsher punishment for minorities charged with low level drug crimes while himself being criminally addicted to oxycontin for many years, does not represent the honor, integrity and dignity for which the NFL shield is supposed to represent.
Character is a constant point of emphasis for NFL and team officials when it comes to the players; potential owners should be held to the same level of scrutiny and accountability.
Black Sports Online's Littal: "Is this the person you want to be a face of the franchise?" Black Sports Online's Robert Littal wrote in an October 7 post on WashingtonPost.com that "the quality that has afforded Limbaugh the financial assets to be an NFL owner is the same quality that should make it a no brainer why he shouldn't be allowed in the league." Littal added:
Rush Limbaugh is an egomaniac who can't help himself when it comes to making conversational statements. There is no way that he would be a "silent" owner.
Limbaugh couldn't last on ESPN for three weeks before offending his co-workers and the league with his comments about the media wanting Donovan McNabb to succeed because he is black.
Is this the person you want to be a face of the franchise?
Even if you believe, like I do, that Limbaugh is just a "blowhard" it doesn't change the fact his comments can be very insensitive to the public as a whole.
[NFL commissioner] Roger Goodell claims that one of his major concerns with the NFL is its image. If that is the case there is no way Rush Limbaugh should be allowed in league.
Post-Dispatch's Burwell: "Limbaugh's American Dream is a potential nightmare waiting to happen for the Rams." In an October 7 column, St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bryan Burwell wrote that "[t]hough I think it is his right to take a shot at becoming part of a new Rams ownership group, Limbaugh's American Dream is a potential nightmare waiting to happen for the Rams, the city and the National Football League." From Burwell's column:
But inside the locker rooms of the NFL, where the overwhelming majority of the players are descendants of slaves, Limbaugh's ignorant ramblings resonate with entirely different emotions.
His money might be green, but his words are colored with hate and intolerance. Bringing Limbaugh back into the NFL family will ultimately be met with the same disastrous effects from the last time it was tried.
Remember the failed experiment with the ESPN NFL pregame show?
Remember the seething anger and pained expression on the face of ESPN analyst Tom Jackson when he tried to express his feelings about what Limbaugh had said in the aftermath of the notorious Donovan McNabb disaster?
[...]
But even if he fit in with his politics, let's hope he doesn't fit in with his polarizing, racist demagoguery. And yes, that is exactly what it is, no matter how many of his blindly loyal supporters want to put the "politically incorrect" party dress on it.
"The NAACP should have riot rehearsal. They should get a liquor store and practice robberies."
Again, those are his words.
ESPN's Blackistone: "We can't have Rush Limbaugh in the NFL. He had his chance and he ruined it." During the October 6 edition of ESPN's Around the Horn, ESPN's Kevin Blackistone said: "Well, the buck's got to stop here with political ownership and teams. We can't have this. Who's next? Glenn Beck's going to want a team? James Carville's going to want a team? You got to nip this thing in the bud. We can't have Rush Limbaugh in the NFL. He had his chance, and he ruined it." ESPN contributor and Denver Post columnist Woody Paige, however, said Limbaugh would be a good owner because "I want an ultraconservative defense out of St. Louis."
ESPN's Cowherd: "[B]ad idea ... you want a low-profile guy running the club." During the October 6 edition of ESPN2's SportsNation, co-host Colin Cowherd said that Limbaugh being an owner is a "bad idea" because for "the fans over time, you want a low-profile guy running the club." Cowherd added: "Rush Limbaugh is a lot of things. Low profile is not one of them. Let's talk about high-profile NFL owners. Dan Snyder, Redskins -- Dumpster fire. Jerry Jones, Cowboys -- right now, underachieving mess. Al Davis, Raiders -- enough said." Co-host Michelle Beadle responded: "I'll just say good but I kind of want [a] maybe [option]." Beadle also said that the show's unscientific poll of viewers found that 56 percent of respondents thought Limbaugh being an owner is a bad idea.
Deadspin.com's Bennett: "Horrible Person Wants To Buy Horrible Team." On October 6, Deadspin.com senior editor Dashiell Bennett wrote a post headlined, "Horrible Person Wants To Buy Horrible Team." Bennett wrote: "Professional blowhard Rush Limbaugh is aiming to become a part-owner of the St. Louis Rams. I guess the team won't be drafting any black quarterbacks from now on. (But at least they'll play pain-free!)"
Yahoo! Sports' Darnell: Limbaugh's "very presence brings politics into the football," he is "so polarizing." In an October 6 post on Yahoo! Sports' Shutdown Corner blog, editor Matthew J. Darnell wrote: "Here's why I don't like the idea: I have my opinion on Rush Limbaugh, and, as we're all about to witness in the comments, everyone else has their opinions on Rush Limbaugh, too. His very presence brings politics into the football discussion. I'd prefer to avoid that, but the man is so polarizing that I don't see any way around it. I couldn't get through the first sentence of this post without a little jab."
Review-Journal says, "If the Rams' present is dim, the future could be more dismal," cites Limbaugh's "history of racially insensitive comments." On October 7, the Las Vegas Review-Journal's sports page wrote: "Los Angeles should be thankful the Rams left for St. Louis 15 years ago. And it has nothing to do with their NFL-worst 14-game losing streak and 5-31 record since 2007. If the Rams' present is dim, the future could be more dismal. Conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh said in a prepared statement Tuesday that he and St. Louis Blues owner Dave Checketts have made a bid to buy the Rams ... Could Limbaugh's history of racially insensitive comments prove to be an impediment to luring minority free agents to the Rams?"
Transcripts
From the October 6 edition of ESPN2's SportsNation:
BEADLE: Conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh says he's teaming up with St. Louis Blues hockey owner Dave Checketts in a bid to buy the St. Louis rams. By NFL rules, the group would have no other choice but to keep the team in St. Louis because of its ties to the Blues. Now, that's good news for fans who love their Rams, but do they love Limbaugh attached to their team? Some people love him, some people not so much. So we asked SportsNation, is Rush Limbaugh and Dave Checketts owning a team good or bad?
COWHERD: A bad idea to me, although they can't get worse. I like low-profile owners. Rush Limbaugh is a lot of things. Low profile is not one of them. Let's talk about high-profile NFL owners. Dan Snyder, Redskins -- Dumpster fire. Jerry Jones, Cowboys -- right now, underachieving mess. Al Davis, Raiders -- enough said. By the way, great franchise, Ravens. Who owns them? Great franchise, Giants. Could you pick their owner out of a group of people? The teams that are great, owners stay low-key.
BEADLE: I mean, you know, say what you will about Rush Limbaugh, it's smart teaming up with Dave Checketts. This guy obviously knows what he's doing. He ran the Utah Jazz, he ran the Knicks --
COWHERD: Yes.
BEADLE: -- owns the Blues. That part is smart. Politics and sports, they somehow always seem to find a way. Remember when the Red Sox were gunning for the World Series, a lot of management, a lot of executives were footing it behind John Kerry, and then you had [former pitcher] Curt Schilling who was very vocal for Bush. So if Limbaugh does -- just stays quietly and just takes in the money --
COWHERD: That'd be great.
BEADLE: -- but being a NFL owner? Then it's not such a --
COWHERD: It's a great investment for Rush. The team is awful. He's buying a great asset, the NFL, at a low point. For Rush, it's a great buy. For the fans over time, you want a low-profile guy running the club.
BEADLE: So we asked SportsNation, is Rush Limbaugh and Dave Checketts owning a team good or bad or Rams fans? You voted --
COWHERD: I would say eventually a bad idea.
BEADLE: Ah, this one is tough. I'll just say good but I kind of want maybe. SportsNation? Bad, 56 percent.
COWHERD: Well, right now, the high-profile --
BEADLE: Tough one.
COWHERD: -- high-profile owners right now are seen as meddlers.
From the October 6 edition of ESPN's Around the Horn:
TONY REALI (host): The St. Louis Rams, up for sale, and Rush Limbaugh is interested. You think he'd make a good NFL owner, Woody Paige?
PAIGE: Yes, I do. You've heard of the wildcat offense. You've heard of the wing-T. How about the right-winged-T? And how about that defensive T -- we've heard about them passing, and the pass, greatest show on turf. I want an ultraconservative defense out of St. Louis. Maybe the Rams have a chance to get back in the race.
BLACKISTONE: Well, the buck's got to stop here with political ownership and teams. We can't have this. Who's next? Glenn Beck's going to want a team? James Carville's going to want a team? You got to nip this thing in the bud. We can't have Rush Limbaugh in the NFL. He had his chance, and he ruined it.
REALI: Ultraconservative defense wins the argument. Point to Woody Paige.
I think that about sums it up.
A.) Would Rush be in favor of the 'Rooney Rule'? The rule that a team must interview a minority candidate before making a final decision
B.) The NFL is a very 'socialist' league. The league splits all TV money equally along with most of the merchandising and ticket sales. Will Rush continue to support this? The way the league divides revenue is part of its overwhelming success. If NFL divided its revenues as baseball did, Rush's St. Louis team would not be able to compete.
However, revenue sharing and salary cap are going to be highly contentious issues in upcoming collective bargaining negotiations. Cowboy's owner Jerry Jones was recently fined for saying revenue sharing was on its way out.
Philosophically, you would think Limbaugh would oppose both policies, but as a small market team, the Rams benefit from both. Should Limbaugh's ownership bid succeed, it would be interesting to see how he votes.
The freedom of speech can either move mountains, or give someone enough rope to hang themselves.
I hope Rush has enough rope.
Only the rough, scratchy part that leaves a nice rope burn.
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Not that there's anything wrong with that!
Freedom of speech is like a pit bull.
It can work for you, or it can bite you in the ass.
I'm convinced that Limburger and Becky go through these & give unflattering remarks the thumbs down.
They have a lot of time on their hands.
They certainly don't spend any time on fact checking!
But there will be no way, absolutely zero chance, that this goes through. The other owners won't accept him into their club.
I'd explain more, but they've just rung the bell for me here, and I'm starting to salivate. Dinner must be ready!
It's a sad statement on American journalistic integrity that the sportswriters are giving lessons to the editors and investigative journalists on how to call BS when they hear it. How is it that these sportswriters can remember all the racist, hypocritical things that Rush has said, yet mainstream journalists continue to act surprised when they hear accusations of racism against Limbaugh?
"Rush ... represents, as I've mentioned, everything I hate in political and every other kind of commentary. Narrow-minded, intolerant, a sworn enemy of the disadvantaged, a friend of the power elite, against anyone who would dare to voice protest in an effort to alleviate human misery."
I'll second that. Over in Detroit, where Republicans are virtually unknown, WJR radio "caters to its listeners' wishes" (/sarcasm) with a line-up that's wall-to-wall conservatives, from home-grown Paul W. Smith (who has subbed for Limbaugh) to Hannity, Levin, and Rush himself. The only exception to this right-wing mire is a show by Mitch Albom, a very thoughtful and honest journalist, whose main career has been as a sportswriter.
That said, Limbaugh is most certainly a dirty racist, and there's a mountain of evidence proving it. "Take that bone out of your nose and call me back", anyone? I'd actually enjoy him being an NFL owner a lot. It'd give me another team to hate, and I'd love to see black players jumping ship. Although, God forbid his team wins the Super Bowl. We'd never hear the end of it. But I digress. Taking song titles out of context isn't our job, that's for the Puritans. Remember "Suicide Solution"?
Marge Schott..
{and I don't follow any sports)
You already have that. With an ultraconservative offense.
Mr. Limbaugh, if your American Dream fails, don't sulk or get mad, just pull up those boot straps and try again. Don't portray yourself as a victim because it is you who victimized you.
Your behavior is being recognized and aren't you the one who said "Bad Publicity is as comparable to Good Publicity..it is the PR that counts".
Funny how Mr. Limbaugh is being critized by people who really don't follow politics. And the Republicans STILL can't figure out why Rush representing them has hurt them on the last two election. ARE YOU STARTING TO CATCH ON????
Back to an old line...Rush is going top change the name of the Rams to symbolize his thankfulness for all of those who have support him over the years. It will be the ArseTrich...that people-like animal that buries something up its own something.
a team that contributes more money than others to liberal causes.
Maybe we can think of a team that Rush would be proud to own. Perhaps you could start a new team made up of some elderly people who used to have their own group, such as the Ku Klux Klan. Then Limbaugh can recruit people who would be proud to wear the uniform.
The Knights could use a chess piece with a hood over the horse as its mascot. I don't think the team would do very well, because it's very difficult to play football looking through a pillowcase with two eyeholes. I think the biggest problem would be recruiting.
And of course the team would probably lose money in its first 90 years, which is about as long as it would take for some people who think like Rush to change their minds.
I wonder if you will cry racism when Obama's taxes take a huge bite out of NFL, NBA and MLB players' salaries? The majority of those players are minorities.......
I can understand the clowns who say inflammatory things for ratings. The thing is that they then own those statements. They don't get to say "Hey, I just said those racist things for ratings. I'm not really a racist."
You need to go further. McNabb let the Eagles to FOUR consecutive NFC championship games.
Limbugh is an arrogant basturd, he really thinks that his money is going to make this a done deal. It may happen, or it may not. Regardless, he is going to take some serious hits. It couldn't happen to a more deserving guy.
If he fails it will be a week's worth of radio rants; can't wait.
i know that this is an inconvenient truth; but what Rush said about McNabb was not racist,
No? What, then, do you think would have been a racist comment?
and he was not fired because of his comment.
Then why was he fired? Please enlighten us.
Rush was hired onto the show to inject controversial comments, and when he did....People were just shocked !!
So you think that his statement about McNabb wasn't racist, but it was controversial. Since the statement was explicitly about McNabb's race, how was it controversial without being racist?
Or do you think Limbaugh was fired over other "controversial" statements?
here's a true example of racism... 32 nfl teams passing on warren moon in the college draft, including the oilers who eventually signed him as a free agent after he proved himself in canada, because they could not accept a black man playing the quarterback position...
reporting from murderland ranch,
i'm mookie von zipper
massmurdermedia
what is true is that while mcnabb is not an excellent QB, he is not a QB who will cost you games, and many head coaches would love to have him... as for 4 consecutive NFC championship appearances, the sports punditry consensus of the day was that philly's defense got them there... mcnabb played well enough to keep them from losing but philly's offense was never rated very high...
I am not a Philly fan and have never been a huge McNabb guy, but these statements show (as did Limbaugh's) a complete lack of understanding of the NFL and quarterbacks. In 2001, McNabb threw for over 3000 yards, 25 TDs, and 12 INTs. His rating was over 84. In 2002, he threw for almost 2300 yards in only 10 games, 17 TDs, and 6 INTs with a rating over 86. In 2003, he threw over 3000 yards again, 16 TDs, and 11 INTs for a rating just under 80. In 2004, in only 15 games he threw for almost 4000 yards, 31 TDs, and 8 INTs for a rating over 104.
"mcnabb played well enough to keep them from losing but philly's offense was never rated very high..." - mookie
Putting aside the first 3 years, which look pretty good to me, I don't know how you can defend your statement in a year when he threw for 3800 yards, over 30 TDs, and less than 10 INTs with a rating over 104. That is simply ludicrous.
Also, in 2008 McNabb once again went to the NFC finals with over 3900 yards, 23 TDs, and only 11 INTs with a rating, once again, over 86. He continues to prove Limbaugh a moron and his race-baiting statements FALSE. Unless your view is clouded by partisanship or worship of Limbaugh, there is just no other way to see it.
as a texans fan i've suffered thru many losing seasons of david carr and his QB ratings peaking in the mid 80's... but if they had had philly's defense they certainly would have had winning records...
This is exactly the mindset that Limbaugh was displaying. He said the only reason McNabb was still a starting quarterback was because the NFL somehow had a vested interest in a black quarterback being successful. (Let's put aside the fact that this is completely ridiculous on its face and shows a complete lack of understanding of pro sports, the NFL, and Philadelphia in general.) The suggestion would be that the NFL is out to disprove the idea that black men were incapable of being a quarterback. Do you really not see that?
someone better tell tony dungy that rush is a racist, so he will no longer appear on rush's show and pay to advertise his book on rush's website...
Sepsis Gadfly, (Rush Limbaugh), would want to change the name, of the team, to the St. Louis Aryans. Swastika emblazoned helmets on an all white team, will certainly reap millions of fans.
How is that a good idea? We would know who they are, unless they choose to wear the hood and robe of the Ku Klux Klan. Then again, their license plates are visible, and the bumper stickers, with a hanged man graphics would proclaim team affiliation.
Free speech, and the stadium will peel with the repetitive, "Sieg Heil," booming out of our televisions. That will be a proud moment for Sepsis Gadfly. Burning cross, anyone?
It be it,
Ronin Kannushi.
My theory is he sees it as a quick investment: buy the Rams, move to big market LA, sell the now big marked team to someone else at inflated price, pocket profit, out of the NFL.
I assert it's because he's from Missouri and feels this will make him one of the jocks.
After all isn't El-Rushbo against "socialism" ?
Rush Limbaugh is no "conservative," as all describe him, he is a far right-wing, neo-fascist, racist and needs to be known as such. And Dave Checketts needs to be included in EVERY criticism of Limbaugh's want to own the Rams (and run the day-to-day operations). If the adage, you are who your friends and associates are is true, then what of Checketts? What of his ownership of the St. Louis Blues hockey team?
Sports, with its stark messages and stark measures of success and failure, is the clearest lens through which we can view our society. The least thing the mainstream media can do is treat this issue with the absolute stark seriousness it deserves.
You need to learn up on the first amendment. It has nothing to do with Limbaugh. He is not being denied any first amendment rights and it makes you look ridiculous when you claim these things.
Lastly, Limbaugh is a documented racist race-baiter. Do you really need me to go through all the things he has said and prove it to you? Are you that out of touch?