Once again a loser with a waining career makes a controversial statement to boost his ratings & get back in the limelight. This has ‘publicity stunt’ written all over it. That he’s a pill junkie is no surprise; we already knew he was an attention junkie.
Are my right-wing credentials in order here? Good.
I was happy to see Rush Limbaugh get a chance at sports commentary, but he’s been pretty weak from day 1, in my opinion. He’s made a number of basic factual errors (things like saying the Rams haven’t been to the Super Bowl since Mike Martz took over as head coach), errors that make me wonder if he’s done any homework for this job. Beyond that, he’s engaged in a lot of bluster but hasn’t said anything really interesting. So, I think he was a disappointment as a commentator all along, and won’t miss him now that he’s resigned.
As for this particular controversy… I happen to agree that there are a lot of sportswriters out there whose commentary is driven by political considerations. I just don’t see ANY indication of that with regard to Donovan McNabb or black quarterbacls in general. Rush was waaaaay off the mark and waaaay out of line on this one.
Now, I do agree with Rush on one topic: I think that Donovan McNabb is both good AND highly overrated. But the reason he’s overrated isn’t that he’s black- it’s that he’s so exciting to watch.
McNabb can make plays that almost no other quarterback I’ve ever seen can make. He can make amazing throws on the run! Problem is, he’s equally capable of overthrowing a wide-open receiver on the very next play. Over the course of a game, he may make enough bad decisions and poor throws to cost the Eagles a game… but when it’s over, it’s those few spectacular plays he made that stand out in everyone’s mind. Apart from Michael Vick, no quarterback makes so many plays worthy of highlight films.
It doesn’t necessarily follow that he’s a great quarterback- right now, I rate him as merely a good quarterback who shows occasional flashes of brilliance. But it’s precisely those moments of brilliance that make fans and writers HOPE he succeeds. Even if his overall stats were no better than those of, say, Trent Green’s (to pick a random good-but-not-great white QB), McNabb is infinitely more fun to watch than Green will ever be! He’s SO good at times that you just can’t help dreaming of how great he COULD be if he ever got his act completely together.
I’m amazed that Limbaugh can’t grasp that.
Really? Like who? Somebody you heard on the radio? One of your friends from the feed store? FAIR is a national organization with a reputation for impartiality. The article I linked to was balanced and completely non-hysterical. The quotes from the article are available from several other sources already linked to by other contributors to this thread. You asked for evidence, you got it, and you rejected it because you didn’t agree with its implications. In short, you’ve wasted my time. I won’t give you the opportunity to do so again.
Even FAIR as much as admits that they are not impartial. They take ‘activist’ stances for/against certain issues. Don’t be so easily fooled by their acronym.
No one’s anwered your question yet:
NFL player ballots make up one-third of the Pro Bowl vote. NFL coach ballots make up another third. and fan balloting makes up the final third.
“NEW YORK (AP) - Without backing down from his comments about a black football player, conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh resigned from his TV sports job, saying he regretted having caused “discomfort” to his colleagues at ESPN.”
“Chris Berman, who anchors the ESPN show which is carried in Canada on TSN, said he did not believe Limbaugh’s tone or intent was malicious.”
Now what this has to do with anything I don’t know:
“Also Wednesday, media reports surfaced saying Limbaugh was under investigation in Florida for allegedly abusing prescription painkillers.”
I think Rush could parley this into a book deal. Attitude over Aptitude: The History of Over-Hyped Athletes, from Gerry Cooney to Ryan Leaf.
Forward by Jeremy Shockey.
As for the bone story, I don’t think it’s safe to assume anything. I have yet to see a site that is older than a week, confirm that that was said. Now it just seems to me that everyone has picked up on this one issue, yet no one has given a cite for it.
This story provides additional details on the Rush drug allegations.
I’m a liberal to the bone. I hate Rush and all of the nastiness that he stands for(not quite like I hate Savage and the bile he spews, though). However, I don’t see the hooplah, and neither do the 10 other liberals I’ve discussed it with.
This is as bad as the Trent Lott thing-and I’m a Liberal!
Sam
To all of the people who continue to defend Limbaugh after it has been shown that he’s a racist:
The “bone in the nose” quote and many other racist remarks, were indeed attributed to him more than a week ago, which is clealy demonstrated in the links I provided above. It’s also been reported by far more sources than just FAIR, as once again demonstrated by the links provided above. Perhaps someone would take the time to read the damned lnks if they wish to continue to defend the racist.
If you wish to dispute that he said these things, feel free. Find the lawsuit he filed against the publications, or cites where he even disputes the statements.
Regardless of anyone’s take on his McNabb comment, it’s been made crystal fucking clear that he is a racist. I’d be interested in your motivations for defending a known racist in regards to his racism.
Google Results - “rush limbaugh” “bone out of you nose” - take your pick.
He said it.
I’m not defending whether or not the man is a racist. I’m simply pointing out that what he said, intended to say, or how he attempted and failed to get his point across was not an overt act of racism. Honestly, the last thing on my mind is whether he made a stupid racist comment on the air(or a handfull of them)10-15 years ago.
He might be racially insensitive. He might be a bigot. He might run around his house with a fucking white pillowcase on his head. Fact is, he offered up an opinion regarding a black athlete and people have jumped on the bandwagon to lambast and roast his ass-apparently based on comments made almost or over a decade ago(at least here at the SDMB).
Sam
I’m just glad he resigned because he clearly doesn’t know anything about football.
The fans love McNabb because of his elusiveness behind the line, his ability to make people miss on the tackle and his ability to run and his willingness to take a big hit then get up with a smile on his face.
I don’t know how racist the comment was but it gives an insight on how weird his logic is.
God, this thread has devolved into a fucking three ring feces-flinging drunk monkey circus on ice.
Listen up, people: just because Person X doesn’t think what Rush said in this instance is racist doesn’t mean that Person X is a Rush supporter or is defending Rush. Person X is talking only about the statement, not about Rush. Also, whether Rush is a racist or has said racist things in the past is completely irrelevant to the issue of whether what he said now is racist.
Jesus, when will some of you dopey Dopers realize that life is more complicated than “I defend this person” or “I hate this person”?
As for defending a racist, I in no way defended him. My hesitation to believe internet news stems from the story Yahoo had about some guy who was winning a lot on the stock market, and other news picked it up, and the story was about how he came back from the past. It was not true. So you may say I’m defending him, but that’s a pretty simplistic view, which goes to what TaxGuy is saying, but I was more worried about finding truth.
How many cites do we have to provide before SvtHim actually buys it? Do we have to get Rush to personally call them at home, while live on the air, and admit that he said it, while being simulcast on Fox News?
Well, shit, Svt. I’ll try to get Rush to come to your house personally and admit it to you, but that might be a tall order.
You’re just going to have to trust that he hasn’t been misquoted in the exact same way in dozens of articles.
Curses. Scooped.
I’m just going to chip in with “I’m just glad I can watch ESPN Sunday Countdown again. Terry Bradshaw was starting to get to me.”
-lv