Oopsie! Wrong fight
Rush Limbaugh made a comment critical of the media. However, the story you hear is that he made a racist comment, which isn’t the case. He quit his job over it. It seems too many lefties are happy that he’s gone even though he’s gone for the wrong reasons. Mountains out of molehills.
I am not a fan of Limbaugh and don’t listen to his show because his politics are entirely party line nonsense. It’s kind of pathetic that some are celebrating this as a victory. It’s only a victory if you think getting an ideologue off the air is good. It’s not a victory for race relations or football. And Rush was not being a racist. He was criticizing the media.
October 2nd, 2003 at 9:09 am
I’m not a big fan of him either but isnt it odd that Jesse Jackass and Al Sharpton can make some real racist comments and not a peep is heard from the left?
October 2nd, 2003 at 2:23 pm
Bullshit, Uncle. It was absolutely a racist statement. It would have been different if he had backed it up with, you know, evidence or something, but he didn’t.
NFC Championship game two years in a row, pro bowl three years in a row, and he’s overrated? Gimme a friggin break. Donovan McNabb’s QB rating in 2002 ranked 8th among the 29 QBs who started at least ten games. It was better than Brett Favre, Tom Brady, Jeff Garcia, Drew Brees, Daunte Culpepper, Tommy Maddox, Michael Vick, Steve McNair, and Aaron Brooks, all of whom received considerable hype last year. In 2001, McNabb’s numbers were 7th among 30. (Homework, people! Do your homework!)
Jim Litke tackles this better than I can:
Rush played the race card when it wasn’t even relevant and when he didn’t have to. In trying to make his “point,” he ignored half a dozen equally overhyped QBs like Kordell Stewart (a few years ago, anyway), Kurt Warner, and Drew Bledsoe. (Yes, I said Kurt Warner… flash in the pan, anyone?) His statement was that McNabb is overrated because he is black, and that he hadn’t earned the hype. How can you not view that as a “racially motivated” statement?
Does racial bias still exist? Of course. But if anything, black quarterbacks receive increased criticism, not an easy ride.
Rush got called to the carpet not because he said something “politically incorrect,” but rather because he said something that was clearly racist as well as being demonstrably false.
October 2nd, 2003 at 2:25 pm
By the way, if anyone is guilty of over-hyping McNabb, it isn’t “the Media,” it’s advertisers like DirecTV and the Campbell’s Soup Company.
October 2nd, 2003 at 2:35 pm
I don’t watch NFL football so i’ll take your word for his record. What limbaugh said was:
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.
Granted, his statement appears to be false but it criticizes McNabb and the media. Not blacks. Show me the racist line. Oh, it’s not there. So, Bullshit, Tom.
October 2nd, 2003 at 2:45 pm
SU:
Are you really that bad at connecting the dots? What is the purpose of the first sentence you cited? Obviously what Rush was arguing was that McNabb got undue attention because he was black. How can you interpret that any other way? He’s calling out McNabb’s race.
Had there been even a modicum of truth to the idea, Rush would have a legitimate complaint. But there’s simply no truth there. He introduced race where it’s completely irrelevant. It’s bullshit and racist when Sharpton and Jackson do it, and it’s equally bullshit and racist when Rush does it.
October 2nd, 2003 at 2:57 pm
There are no dots to connect. He made an (obviously false) assertion. The only thing he’s guilty of is politicizing his ESPN spot and trying to make a point that he is wrong about.
He introduced race as the basis for the media coverage of McNabb not as a testament to McNabb’s ability.
Calling him a racist in this instance is exactly like trying to call someone who opposes affirmative action a racist. It’s crap.
My merely committed a politically incorrect boo boo. No racism here, keep it moving, nothing more to see here.
October 2nd, 2003 at 3:24 pm
I think that Peter King of SI got it, Rush accused the media of racism essentially:
Limbaugh was not making a racist statement about black quarterbacks. He was making a racist statement about me. Actually, about me and my colleagues. But I feel like he was talking to me. I am not going to make this about any political view Limbaugh might hold about affirmative action–or about anything, really, except his exact words. And I can tell you that they are incredibly absurd.
October 2nd, 2003 at 3:29 pm
That’s the best quote i’ve seen regarding the incident.
October 2nd, 2003 at 3:40 pm
So Rush is a racist but Dusty Baker isn’t?
October 2nd, 2003 at 4:19 pm
Drake:
Who said that Dusty Baker isn’t? Baker got lambasted, and rightly so.
SU:
Calling him a racist in this instance is exactly like trying to call someone who opposes affirmative action a racist. It’s crap.
Depends why and how they oppose affirmative action. If they actually present evidence as to why they oppose it (which most do), that’s one thing. Blanket assertions are another.
You also have to consider Rush’s history to get a feel for his intent. He reportedly once told a black female caller to remove the bone from her nose. I suppose that wasn’t racist, either. (Yes, that’s more egregious than his ESPN remarks.)
In any case, I don’t think Rush was (or should have been) asked to resign because he’s a racist. I think it’s because he’s an idiot who was obviously pushing a specific political agenda. People watch the pregame show to get the scoop on football, not politics.
October 2nd, 2003 at 4:24 pm
Blanket assertions aren’t racism.
He reportedly once told a black female caller to remove the bone from her nose
If true, that is definitely a racist comment.
I think it’s because he’s an idiot who was obviously pushing a specific political agenda.
That’s more like it 🙂
October 2nd, 2003 at 9:17 pm
Blanket assertions aren’t racism.
Huh? “All blacks are stupid” is a blanket assertion, and it’s most certainly racist.
But Peter King got it right. Limbaugh’s statements are far more offensive and racist toward the members of the media than they are toward black players. (Which isn’t to say that Limbaugh’s statements weren’t racist toward blacks, because they were…)
October 2nd, 2003 at 10:41 pm
It’s not a victory for race relations or football.
Actually it is a victory for football, because Limbaugh’s presence on what previously been the best NFL pre-game show had nothing at all to do with football.
October 3rd, 2003 at 8:52 am
water is wet
Is also a blanket assertion.
Which isn’t to say that Limbaugh’s statements weren’t racist toward blacks, because they were…
No they weren’t. Show me where.
October 3rd, 2003 at 9:49 am
Did Dusty Baker get as much attention from the media? Heck no…even before the pill fiasco, I saw Rush as the front page story on several newspapers, and he was either the lead story or secondary in as many newscasts.
Baker was swept under rug…
October 3rd, 2003 at 9:57 am
Drake proves Rush’s point. The media is racist 🙂
October 3rd, 2003 at 11:28 am
[SU] “Show me where.”
Where he said that McNabb got attention not because he deserved it, but because he was black. Those are the dots that you keep refusing to connect, but he lays it all right out there for you.
[Drake] Did Dusty Baker get as much attention from the media? Heck no…
As much? No. But he still got plenty. You have to understand that whether or not it’s fair, commentators saying stupid things will always get more attention than players and coaches saying stupid things. And if the Cubs weren’t winning, Baker would have taken a lot more heat.
I can think of several examples of broadcasters making racially insensitive remarks and then losing their jobs over them. I can only think of one example of a player/coach on a winning team, and that’s John Rocker — and he offended EVERYONE. Even then, he got plenty of second chances.
Is it fair? Not really. But the job is different. A players job is to make plays. A coach’s job is to coach. A commentators job is to give intelligent commentary, and you have to expect that people are going to pay attention to, and dissect, what you say.
Rush’s remarks got the continued publicity that they did in large part because of Rush’s reaction to the negative responses he got. Not only was he unapologetic, he thumped his chest and said “see, this backlash proves that I’m right,” when he was demonstrably wrong.
And yes, it also got the continued publicity because of who Rush is — a very polarizing figure, and a high-profile one at that.
October 3rd, 2003 at 11:56 am
Where he said that McNabb got attention not because he deserved it, but because he was black.
No, that was critical of the media. Face it, it ain’t there.
October 3rd, 2003 at 1:03 pm
You may think it’s not there, but you are DECIDEDLY in the minority on that one. Most people would agree that “McNabb gets undeserved attention because he’s black” is a racist statement. Especially when it comes from the mouth of someone with a long history of racist statements. Had he left race out of it, and just said “McNabb is overrated,” there would have been no foul. But then he wouldn’t have been injecting a political view.
As it turns out, there are also other reasons why Limbaugh resigned.
October 3rd, 2003 at 1:04 pm
By the way, I know it’s been pointed out dozens of times, but Limbaugh’s criticism of “the media” conveniently ignores the fact that he is the media, or at least, as Peter King pointed out, a substantial part of it.
October 3rd, 2003 at 1:08 pm
but you are DECIDEDLY in the minority on that one.
Good. Means i’m smarter than most people.
Here’s a nice slate article on why Rush was right or correct – we know he’s right.
October 3rd, 2003 at 11:45 pm
In response to the Slate article, then why haven’t Quincy Carter, Steve McNair (who’s actually been to a Super Bowl, and who played well enough there to win it, even though he didn’t), Daunte Culpepper, and Kordell Stewart enjoyed similar treatment? Rush’s statement MIGHT make sense if McNabb were the only black QB in the league, or even the only successful one, but he is neither.
McNabb had the best response. Something along the lines of “Yeah, right. The philly media gave me a free ride. That makes sense.” (Philadelphia is notorious for having some of the worst and most critical sports fans in the US.)
October 3rd, 2003 at 11:47 pm
[Me]“but you are DECIDEDLY in the minority on that one.”
[SU]“Good. Means i’m smarter than most people.”
Non-sequitur. People who think the world is flat and 6,000 years old are decidedly in the minority, too. Does that automatically make them smarter than everyone else?