Rush to Judgment?

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• 1 - Steve Rhodes

  Oct 02, 2003 at 10:51 pm

  
  Sure, the Yankees aren't paying Jason Giambi enough because he is white.
  
  I don't think a lot of people really know Rush, his history, or his impact. I listened and watched his TV show for over a year doing research for a documentary about him.
  
  And that history and impact is a reason there was such a storm over his comments.
  
  Lots of people have criticized Rush's fellow panelists for not speaking out.
  
  Here's one example:
  

  
  Tampa Bay star defensive tackle Warren Sapp also sounded off on the Limbaugh situation on Sporting News Radio's James Brown Show.
  
  "I think Rush Limbaugh has already laid his blueprint in front of America on what he thinks and how he views," Sapp said. "It was just a shock to me that ESPN gave him an opportunity and an open mike in front of a nation to spew out what he wants to spew out, then it came to a head. The thing I want ESPN to do is, don't take his resignation ... fire the man, because he stepped across the line. Once you step across that line someone has to be an authority to say that's wrong and I'm going to take a stance on it."
  
  Sapp, echoing comments McNabb himself made earlier this week, also came out strongly against ESPN analysts Tom Jackson and Michael Irvin, who were part of the show when Limbaugh made his comments.
  
  "I'm shocked that Tom Jackson and Michael Irvin just sat there and let this roll across their faces and didn't say anything. Do we not have anybody that understands that there's way more scrubs in this game that are Anglos than there are black ones that are being pumped up? Trust me, it's not even close. I don't know what Rush Limbaugh was thinking, but Michael Irvin and Tom Jackson didn't do us much justice, that's the one thing I was more teed off about than anything."
  
  
  
  
  
  

• 2 - Jim Carruthers

  Oct 02, 2003 at 11:04 pm

  sports: booorrring
  dumb 'murricans: more boooorrrring
  
  
  c'mon you big fat bastards, there's only one thing 'murricans are good at:
  
  ENTERTAIN US!!!!
  

• 3 - Steve Rhodes

  Oct 02, 2003 at 11:26 pm

  
  Rush can actually be entertaining on radio. He sucks on tv though.
  
  It seems like (as I suspected) Rush was pushed out and at least in part because some of the panelists didn't want to work with him. From a Washington Post article:
  
  

  
  
  Today, there were indications Limbaugh's resignation came after several of his colleagues made it known to ESPN executives they would have a problem continuing to work with him after his comments Sunday about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.
  
  "Some of my cast members were beginning to be made to feel uncomfortable by the press and others who could not believe they wouldn't respond to what I said," Limbaugh told an audience of more than 800 in his keynote speech at the National Association of Broadcasters convention here this morning. "I simply did not want to cause any discomfort to people on that program."
  
  ...ESPN and other football and industry sources said today Tom Jackson, a former NFL linebacker and a longtime studio analyst on "Countdown," had objected to Limbaugh's continued presence, and there may have been others. Chris Berman is the longtime host, with Jackson, former San Francisco quarterback Steve Young and former Dallas wide receiver Michael Irvin also in the studio as analysts.
  
  Jackson had challenged Limbaugh's remarks on the air Sunday, but none of the others engaged him in a discussion about the racial issue. Berman said Wednesday, "I probably should have looked to soften it."
  
  An ESPN spokesman declined to comment when asked about Jackson's role in Limbaugh's resignation. He also said the former players have been asked not to comment and that the controversy will be addressed on Sunday's pre-game show. The network has no plan to replace Limbaugh.
  

• 4 - Voxxy

  Oct 03, 2003 at 9:21 am

  Rush was trying to explain why a mediocre QB (77 career rating) like McNabb was so lionized by the media...and what other explanation is there? His stats as a quarterback are just fair, actually, they are comparable to those of Kordell Stewart, Tim Couch and other non-superstars...so why is he a star?

• 5 - bhw

  Oct 03, 2003 at 4:14 pm

  I understand Sapp and McNabb's frustration that Tom Jackson and Michael Irvin didn't take Rush to task. Jackson did counter Rush's comments by talking about the type of plays he's seen McNabb make, but he didn't address the racial preference inference. Irvin apparently didn't comment at all.
  
  But I don't blame them because it's totally out of the theme of the show. This is a sports preview show in which a handful of former football players and one sportscaster analyze that weekend's matchups. They talk about this receiver against that defensive back, this running back against that set of linebackers, etc. Matchups, matchups, matchups. They don't delve into politics, and despite what the ESPN exec said earlier in the week, half of Rush's comment was politically motivated. The other half had to do with football [i.e., Philly's defense].
  
  I'm sure they weren't really sure how to handle it live, on the air. Who would be? There must have been some element of surprise, even though it came out of Rush's mouth. These guys are there to talk about football in some detail, and ESPN brought Rush in for his "opinions," a.k.a, to bring politics to the discussion. I can only think they said, "WTF?" when they learned a non-sports guy was going to be on their show this season. Even if he hadn't made an offensive statement, I'm sure they wanted him gone just because he didn't belong there.
  
  Who would you rather listen to talk about football, Tom Jackson or Rush? Steve Young or Rush? My grandma or Rush?

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