Unless you ahven’t heard Rush Limbaugh is a minority partner in a bid to buy the St. Louis Rams (Link)
That has, as could be guessed, some hand wringing on the Left and also not too surpisingly, some NFL players have come out and said they will not play for the Rams if Limbaugh is allowed to participate in thke purchase. (Link)
Now here is the issues:
All else being equal (i.e. there is no other fiscal or other reasons not to approve), should the NFL still deny the sale strictly because Rush Limbaugh is involved? What is your prediction?
For #1 I think the NFL absolutely will refuse the sale because of Rush. The NFL is very popular, very conservative (not politically, just in their actions) and I cannot see them wanting to bring in that kind of controversey. And I think that is what they should do.
For #2 the answer of course is yes, in the sense that individuals can make the
The NFL might want him to stay away, I agree, just like Major League Baseball didn’t want Mark Cuban to buy the Cubs. But I thought baseball was wrong there - Cuban is a loudmouth, but a great owner and true fan - and I think the NFL would be wrong here. He would be a minority partner and would not own the team himself.
Rush’s money is as green as anybody else’s, and if George Steinbrenner can own a team despite making illegal campaign contributions to Richard Nixon, I think Rush can own a football team even though he’s a windbag. The players can turn down the team’s money if they choose, but I don’t think a lot of them would do so. There aren’t that many NFL teams and few players can afford to turn down a potential employer.
Anybody on the left who spends a lot of time complaining about this is liable to look really stupid.
I have no idea how the buying process works, but it seems that the NFL as a whole has some say as to whether or not someone can buy a team, correct?
Don’t those terms include the subjective what is best for the NFL overall? That is, he’s not being singled out for a political opinion per se, or for being of a particular race or religion–he’s being considered on the same terms as anyone else. That despite fundamental fairness of how an effect comes about or who is actually the responsible party, that he would potentially lower attendance or lower the quality of games (as athletes protest) is a factor all the other owners are considering.
Furthermore, given his media savvy and generally opportunistic bent, that he could get the NFL embroiled in public relations scenarios that they would rather avoid could also be a weighty factor. This is exemplified by his short-term hosting of Monday Night Football–what sounded like a good idea at the time (hiring Rush to commentate) backfired and ended with mild dyspepsia.
The other owners approve all sales of teams, yes. But I doubt they can approve and reject individual investors. If they don’t want Limbaugh, they would have to veto the entire sale, and that might piss off the family trying to sell the Rams. If there is a big controversy, I would not be surprised if the league leaned on Rush a bit, but if the Rams owners like his group’s bid, I think the other owners will probably accept it. If they don’t, they risk facing this kind of problem any time someone wants to sell a team.
It’s true that everybody who wants to buy a team faces the same kind of scrutiny, but it would amount to a rejection of Limbaugh because he’s a famous Republican jerk. That doesn’t sit well with me.
The NFL keeping Rush Limbaugh from ownership would be very significant. I bet a high proportion of his fans watch football religiously. I am not sure it would be such a big deal. I don’t have a problem with it.
He’s making an investment and buying his way into the party.
Rush has already proven he doesn’t know football with his ESPN stint. If he’s gonna want say so on player personnel decisions he’s gonna be a major distraction. If he’s just gonna sit back and chill and entertain his friends and business associates in the owner’s box, it might be alright.
I can see him saying stuff on his radio show that’ll get him fined by the NFL though.
Point taken. They might impose a “Marge Schott” rule on Rush, though, if they so choose – he’s welcome to make money off the team, but cannot participate in decision-making, etc.
Frankly, I don’t care whether he buys a team or not. I do, however, respect any player that walks from the team as a protest against Limbaugh’s politics.
Erg… I don’t think they’d avoid him because he’s a Republican jerk, I think they’d hesitate because he’s a jerk, period.
What about Howard Stern? I haven’t listened to him since his WNBC days in the eighties, but I gather he’s still an obnoxious prick. Let’s pretend he’s a lefty (or maybe he is). After it comes out that he’s a minority investor, cheerleaders start protesting that their enthusiasm would drop. Some sponsors express some hesitance. A few players voice objection. Sure, many of his fans are rabid football lovers, but if another owner does his calculations and determines/decides that overall, revenues will suffer with Stern as a fellow owner, then it’s entirely realistic to vote against him. If these types of calculations don’t figure in, then why is there the vote in the first place?
Forgive me my unfamiliarity with the sport, but didn’t they bounce him from the party a while ago? IIRC, he started out as an announcer then came back for Monday Night Football. He made some very typical Rushism, which when heard by an audience outside his niche came across as very offensive. Dittoheads aside, the network determined that he would lose more for them than they’d gain by appeasing his personal fan base. While network <> owners club, they are part of the same shindig, so his buying his way in may not hold with some of the other owners.
Again, this has nothing to do with his party affiliation or opinions. Some of the other owners may even be fans or espouse much more vile shit on their own. But it sounds like his much higher profile is weighing in on their decision.
Limbaugh is a private citizen and has a right to invest in businesses like anyone else. The idea that sports leagues have any standing to dismiss him on character when they already include the scum they do is laughable.
I’m not convinced many players will actually follow through on refusing to play for St. Louis if Rush is a minority owner. The ones that are under contract don’t really have many options. They can’t just go try out for another team. Same with draftees–you sign with the team that drafted you, or you get traded, or you don’t play/get paid. It might have some marginal effect in the free agent market, but that’s speculative at this point.
Also really don’t think Rush is going to cost the Rams anything in terms of attendance. His show is popular, and he seems to have no problem selling advertising time.
I think issue is the fellow owners voting to allow/not allow the sale of the team if Limbaugh is involved, not the NFL itself denying it. In that case each individual owner has the right to a vote on the decision. If every owner individually decides to not allow him entry to the owners club, then what’s wrong with that? Their right to vote to deny his bid to buy the team is just as valid as his right to attempt to buy it. Just because he wants to buy it doesn’t mean his offer has to be accepted by his potential fellow owners.
Most NFL teams are owned outright by one individual, from what I can tell. And the Packers have their terrific, but unfortunately unique, community ownership deal. I’m looking around for a list of minority owners to see if there are any other interesting or controversial people involved. The Dolphins had a few celebrities buy a small portion of the team this year to drum up some publicity.