We've discussed the Rush Limbaugh possibly buying a piece of the St. Louis Rams for much of this week, so now that El Rushbo has been kicked to the curb by his would be financial partner, Dave Checketts, time for some reality.
The Wall Street Journal blasts the pressure brought on by progressive groups (and National Football League Players Association head DeMaurice Smith) that led the man who boasts that his talents "are on loan from God" from being rejected by the NFL establishment in recent days.
Smith did send out an e-mail earlier this week to his membership asking them to speak out against a potential Limbaugh ownership bid. The Journal believes (as does Rush, as he said on his radio program yesterday) that with new contract negotiations beginning between the Players and the owners, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell "punted' because of fears of alienating the NFLPA.
Who knows what motivated Goodell to speak out against Limbaugh's controversial statements back in 2003 while working for ESPN? Perhaps common sense? Good business acumen? The fact is, even Rush lovers must realize that the man alienates a good third of the public. How is that beneficial to the NFL?
The Journal uses the idea of MSNBC's highly partisan political commentator, Keith Olbermann, working on NBC's Sunday night telecasts, as being a case of hypocrisy in action.
But in fact Olbermann's role is akin to what Rush was with ESPN, a well known news man who loves sports doing his sports commentary. I know Olbermann has done his "Worst Person in the World" bit on the football pre-game show, but I've essentially seem him stick to giving scores and highlights out, not making racial pronouncements, a la Limbaugh back in '03, which led ESPN to giving him the boot.
Most amusing has been the pity party that the right wing has been conducting in recent days, mourning the assault on Limbaugh in the media.
This article appears in Oct 15-21, 2009.