Rush Limbaugh: The Big Subliminal Shows Its True Colors
October 9, 2009 by dwil
Ahhh yes, the Big Subliminal is at it again. This time the subliminal message is, Rush Limbaugh as a potential owner of an NFL team is a relative non-issue.
ESPN, through their lack of coverage of Limbaugh’s want to own the St. Louis Rams, is well, well, damn, do I have to say it?
Yes I do. The paucity of time across all of ESPN’s media platforms devoted to this issue is racist at its core.
Should we be shocked that someone like Vince Doria, ESPN Senior VP of News, along with the countless editors and producers lording over ESPN employee’s written and spoken words, would aid and abet in ensuring that Limbaugh does not get the flogging he deserves?
Yes, I’m sure part of the reason for the relative silence is ESPN’s embarrassing inclusion of Limbaugh in their Sunday NFL Countdown programming; that someone, or some honchos at the Big Subliminal failed to recognize – before hiring the racist, bloviating buffoon - Limbaugh’s obscene penchant for making everything he touches about him. But they failed and Rush barely lasted a quarter of a season before speaking in thinly-veiled, racist terms about Donovan McNabb:
“I think what we’ve had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well,” Limbaugh said. “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.”
Then there’s the issue of that little Bloods and Crips quote Limbaugh laid down:
“Look, let me put it to you this way: The NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips without any weapons. There, I said it.”
For Rush, quotes like those are positively introspective.
In case you really want to know you he feels about Black people:
“I mean, let’s face it, we didn’t have slavery in this country for over 100 years because it was a bad thing. Quite the opposite: Slavery built the South. I’m not saying we should bring it back. I’m just saying it had its merits. For one thing, the streets were safer after dark.”
By now, you’ve read those quotes, so, in this increasingly narcissistic society, the WOW factor concerning those Limbaugh-isms was over yesterday.
But for ESPN, the WOW factor continues. On the Mike and Mike in the Morning radio-television simulcast, here is the exchange between Mike Greenberg Adn Mike Golic about Limbaugh:
Greenberg: Quickly, two other football stories I want to get to. Tony Romo, who has thrown just one touchdown pass in the last three games has been spending a lot of time talking to Troy Aikman and Aikman has told him, among other things, quote, it’s not always lollipops, chocolates, and fun times when you are the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys…”
After Golic responded with this thoughts on the Romo-Aikman exchange, Greenberg said:
The other story that I see here by now you’ve probably seen headlines that Rush Limbaugh has announced that he’s involved with Dave Checketts who used to run Madison Square Garden and they’re trying to buy the St. Louis Rams. First of all I think he’s from St. Louis – right outside St. Louis….
Golic: Yeah, yeah.
Greenberg: …and several players are reacting form the National Football League saying if he owned a teamthey would not go play for that team. Donovan McNabb was quoted on it – now he has a unique personal relationship. But I see quotes here from Mathias Kiwanuka, and I’m looking through some of the other names here, a couple of other players have made references along those lines.
Golic: I would be interested to see if they would stick by that. I’d be interested to see if, Rush Limbaugh became owner, and was runnin’ the show there, and St. Louis – one of these guys that says they wouldn’t play for him was a free agent and St. Louis offered the most money. I would like to see if — and listen, and if they say they wouldn’t play for him and then they wouldn’t, more power to ‘em if they stand by their convictions there. But I wonder if they’d put their money where their mouth is, if St. Louis was the team that offered them the most money in free agency and could bring them the biggest paycheck, if they would still stand by that.
Greenberg (hurrying through the segment): The story I’m reading there’s a second reference to someone whose last name is “Scott” and it doesn’t say what their first name is. I don’t know if it’s Bart Scott or another NFL player. I can’t find it – ah, here it is, it is Bart Scott. So Bart Scott is another one of the players who made those remarks. I agree with you. It’ll be interesting to see because we all know, ultimately, in many ways, money talks — we’ll find out. Don’t know if it’s gonna happen, we’ll keep and eye on it. Let’s pick some games.
Let’s do that, Mike. Let’s pick some games rather than spend one more second talking about a neo-facsist, far right freak whose name, after you introduced the topic, you refused to say.
But, beyond rushing through the Limbaugh mini-segment, were the demeaning words toward the NFL players who spoke out against Limbaugh necessary?
Appaently so. The issue of Rush Limbaugh is such that Greenberg refused to give the source of the article he read from – The New York Daily News – nor did Greenberg want to share the staunch attitude toward Limbaugh taken by the players as expressed through the Ohm Youngmisuk article:
Mathias Kiwanuka loves his former defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, but the Giants’ defensive end says he will never play for Spagnuolo’s Rams if Rush Limbaugh purchases the team.
Kiwanuka and the Jets’ Bart Scott made it clear Thursday that they would never play for the Rams or any team owned by the controversial conservative radio host.
“All I know is from the last comment I heard, he said in (President) Obama’s America, white kids are getting beat up on the bus while black kids are chanting ‘right on,’” Kiwanuka told The Daily News. “I mean, I don’t want anything to do with a team that he has any part of. He can do whatever he wants, it is a free country. But if it goes through, I can tell you where I am not going to play.”
“I am not going to draw a conclusion from a person off of one comment, but when it is time after time after time and there’s a consistent pattern of disrespect and just a complete misunderstanding of an entire culture that I am a part of, I can’t respect him as a man.”
That is far different from simply not wanting to play for the man. That is taking a principled and outspoken stand against racism and against Rush Limbaugh.
However, the show host duo would have show listeners and watchers believe that Black NFL players play only for paychecks, not for the love of the game, and to top it all off, are unprincipled humans.
It is the smell of racism on a rainy Friday fall morning.
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The past few days I hoped players would step to the fore and make a stand against Rush Limbaugh and Dave Checketts – at least Limbaugh. And they have. But ESPN knows it is the all things sports big dog and feels it can manipulate Black NFL players and athletes, generally, repackage them in the image preferred by ESPN, and re-present them to the public in whatever murky and diffused light they wish.
People like Vince Doria seek actively to continue to court the pro-Limbaugh audience an the audience that is even somewhat sympathetic to Limbaugh.
Doria wouldn’t want to alienate that NASCAR crowd. Doria wouldn’t want to alienate that SEC conference crowd, or that faction of Big Ten and Big 12 crowds who are gut-bucket racists. Doria wouldn’t want to alienate the men in the stands of the Oregon-Boise State football game; the men who screamed racial epithets at LeGarrette Blount and the man who slapped Blount in the face with all his might.
And above all, Doria wouldn’t want to alienate all those NFL, MLB, and NBA owners, athletic directors, and university sports program boosters whose philosophies dovetail with those of Limbaughs.
Doria, as well as the rest of the ESPN management know which side their bread is buttered.
And greased and topped with racist hate toward all thing Black in their AmeriKKKa.
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Related Articles:
More Thoughts on Rush Limbaugh
Who the —- Is Trying to Buy the St. Lois Rams?
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Addendum:
I have a question for Rush Limbaugh and the NFL:
Since your feelings about black people are evident, how can anyone expect Rush Limbaugh to handle the “Rooney Rule” which mandates that NFL teams interview minority candidates and seriously consider those candidates who are interviewed for head coaching positions?
Tough question for NFLers: would you work for an overt racist if he (Limbaugh) were the only owner offering a job or offered the most money?
This is interesting. SI just wrote nice piece by Alexander Wolff on the integration of pro football. Chicago, New York (Giants) and the Washington Redskins caught hell and the names of Halas, Mara and Marshall were put out there for ALL to see. These three men who the NFL genuflect in front of were, at least, weak-kneed. And in Marshall’s case? An unrepentant racist so sick that, even in death, his fortune is bequeathed to help youth but only as long as integration isn’t involved where the money is spent.
Each player’s got to make up his own mind. But any player in the NFL that works for Rush Limbaugh, to some degree, is going to have to address his politics.
You’ve been in my reader for a good minute.
This might make you feel better about Limbaugh’s prospects.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/2009/10/09/2009-10-09_black_nfl_players_crush_prospect_of_playing_for_a_rush_limbaughowned_st_louis_ra.html
Stank-0-
Thank you for having me in your reader….
Check the commentary, I mentioned the NYDN article by Ohm Youngmisuk and quoted Kiwanuka….
D–
It makes sense that BSPN would act this way. I mean, afterall, they never fired him when he made those comments about McChunky. He and Vince Doria are probably “poking” each other after dark.
Man, nicely written piece. Yeah, it was pretty obvious what was cracking with Greenberg, but we already know ’bout him, don’t we?
Funny that Golic, the ex-player, was the one tapped to trot out the meme that the black bucks don’t have the balls to turn down money for politics. You know they gotta feed dem babies.
lol.
To be fair, there are players who lack character and integrety. There are players that will chase the money and eat chicken and water mellon on youtube. Let’s hope there are more like Kiwanuka and less steppin and fetching, but lord knows many have been bending over and grabbing their ankles for years.
This is an interesting couple of days in the plantation league and begs the question – as some one stated- what’s the unions position on this?
sankofa-
Yes this is true. But why would they question the veracity of these players?
If they were White, would their veracity be questioned? Eff no. They’d be lauded for taking a stand and their words would be defended. And then if they did choose money over morals, that action would be defended, too.
Big Man-
Thank you.
Dwil,
Tangetially related to the way white athletes are treated as opposed to black ones:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=4545993
i think they main reason they are ignoring the story because they are part of the story. every other outlet that speaks on the story always references ESPN’s nfl sunday countdown show when rush made his mcnabb comments. if rush was on fox nfl sunday when he made those comments. they would have aired that soundbyte ad-nauseum.
bspn has a tendency to ignore stories when it involves themselves.(harold reynolds, salisbury, dana’s roast, jemele hill, dan patrick etc) the more people talk about this. the more everyone is reminded of his employment by espn.
Awb
Explain what you mean about that link?
Big Man,
Just noticing the fact that this guy failed 13 drug tests and was never made to miss a game. Or match, or whatever you call it in hockey.
Why is Stephen A. Smith on my TV?
Dwil…if you see the segment on “The Ed Show” with Stephen A. Smith, your heads gonna explode…be forewarned.
Spill Miranda! I don’t get the Ed show at work!
While Mike and Mike are discussing whether black players are principled enough to turn down more money from Limbaugh (assuming he’d offer it), what about the potential principles of Steve Spagnuolo? Spags worked for a black GM with the Giants. Jerry Reese got Spags the players he needed for his defense to work, which is how he got the Rams HC job in the first place. Let’s see how principled Spags is if Limbaugh succeeds in buying the Rams. And if RL gets his wish, the first thing he’ll probably do is sue the NFL to overturn the Rooney Rule.
D, you staying plastered all over this story like others have not is definitely appreciated — and needed. Ill have some time this weekend to weigh in.
Like the beginning of the Roethlisberger story, their silence is deafening.
awb…..here’s the clip
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/33248395#33248395
he actually spoke about Mike Vick and the President’s Nobel Peace Prize win too….and he was just as annoying on those subjects.
SAS is an ASS!
Screamin’ Ass can eat a dick.
I’m not saying he’s completely wrong and that some players no matter their race or orientation could give a damn where their money comes from but to actually put forth that ALL players don’t care is bogus at best. No, Stephen A., we all know it’s you who’ll take the money no matter how much blood is on it.
awb, ‘Dog & ‘Dent: you’re right. SAS is an @#$%& (fill in your own word – it’ll be correct). Remember when SAS and James Brown (“JB”) went to Clarence Thomas’ birthday party? What can the intelligence level be of anyone who would go to a Clarence Thomas’ birthday party?!?!?
Dwil, let us know what you need from us to keep up the heat. Although, I have to admit, I never thought the response from the athletes would be so strong. Usually African-Americans are like the book, “Waiting for Lightning to Strike: The Fundamentals of Black Politics”.
How long are the so-called black sportswriters going to sit on the sidelines? I guess getting their children into an Ivy League college is much more important. It would really be something to get a response IN FRONT OF A MICROPHONE from the following (not necessarily in the following order) in regards to their feelings about Rush the Racist owning a sports franchise:
1. ALL of the NFL owners.
2. ALL of the NFL coaches.
3. ALL of the NFL quarterbacks (especially the non-African-American ones).
4. ALL of the NFL pre-game show hosts.
5. ALL of the NFL players with that stupid “C” on their chests.
6. Any other sports owner or athlete that they can be found.
“Mr. NFL (owner, coach, quarterback, pre-game show host, player with the stupid ‘C’ on your chest), Rush Limbaugh said that African-Americans (fill in any one of a hundred racist quotes). DO YOU THINK THE NFL SHOULD ALLOW HIM TO OWN A TEAM?”
It’s a simple question, really…
Wow. A lil surprised at Stephen A for going there. He’s completely wrong on that. Even Wilbon on PTI commented on how pretty much all of black America hates Limbaugh and read some of his racist quotes. He felt like pretty much every black player would be against this and the league should not let it happen.
I don’t feel like all black people have to agree on everything, but it always bothers me when we fail to rally behind clear cut causes like this one. There is no debate here. Even calling Rush racially insensitive is a compliment.
Bottom line is, guys, SOMEONE is going to take the money that Limbaugh puts out there if he owns a team and pays players.
The question is will Limbaugh have to field an all-white team. And if he does? What if they win games? What if he’s successful?
Why are we surprised??? Tell me why are we surprised at Stephen A. Smith? We all know that the media always pulls the same cast of characters out to speak on issues involving race and sports. Wilbon, Smith, etc. they know exactly what they are going to get either straight buck-dancing or buck-dancing lite. They can always be counted on to pour water on whatever racial fire is burning. Lets keep it real, even Barack does it.
I agree with Smith to a degree. Just as surely as there are man-tanners like Cris Carter, Smith, Wilbon, etc. there will be some field n****r that will sign with whatever team fat-ass Limbaugh is a part of. He’ll be trotted out with the head coach and GM and proudly proclaim that all he wants to do is play ball. He’ll tell us that he doesn’t get involved with politics and doesn’t pay it any attention. (Sound like anybody we know??) Then once this Herschel Walker/Michael Jordan type negro signs he’ll make it ok for other toms to follow. So, on the real I can’t even be mad at Steppin A.
On the flip side is some real brothers. They’ll not sign no matter what. The media will try to marginalize them and dunces like Carter and Wilbon will play along. You got to love guys like Mathias Kiwanuka and Bart Scott, guys that are at the top of their game that aren’t afraid to speak out. I dare say there are many others that feel the same way but are told by their agents to keep silent on the subject.
Those cowards at ESPN don’t want to touch the Limbaugh thing because they fear the political backlash. Everyone on here reads the news and sees how the Republicans run like scared rabbits if they say anything that incurs the wrath of Rush. What their cowardly asses miss is that for all of his bluster and noise about Barack, why couldn’t his deviate ass not motivate enough folks to elect McCain? He is a modern day Joseph McCarthy. One of these days some little nerdy dude is gonna come up and knock his fat ass candy in the sand. Then his fat bitch ass is going to run off like the coward he is.
As for the bid with Checketts, please believe that this is just a trial balloon. The less noise people make the more impowered Rush’s sick ass will feel.
I had to shake my head at Wilbon on PTI yesterday because he did a volte face from when this story first broke. He basically said at the beginning that he’d be all hunky dory between Rush and Black players once the winning started. Then yesterday he suddenly remembers that Black people with more than two functioning brain cells DESPISE Limbaugh? Whatever. Wilbon’s a typical tool who waits to see which way the winds are swirling before he’ll commit one way or the other and if that means going against what he said before then so be it. Chump.
How the hell did Obama win the Nobel?
Props to Kevin Blackistone.
http://kevin-blackistone.fanhouse.com/2009/10/07/nfl-should-punt-rush-limbaughs-ownership-bid/
I just want to be sure I understand: do most people believe that Rush’s ownership is a fait accompli, and that there’s no need or use of doing anything?
Maybe I’m naive, but this battle is just beginning.
“Waiting On Lighting To Strike – The Fundamentals of Black Politics” indeed!
Harvey – Didn’t see Wilbon’s previous talk on the issue.
I do like Blackistone’s piece. He makes a pretty good point I hadn’t thought about and that’s public funding for stadiums and other stuff. There is little doubt that having a guy like Rush out there will effect any public voting on those kinds of issues.
If Rush wants to own the Rams fine! —I HOPE HE FAILS!!! I hope it is the financial equilvalent of an incureable desease- i hope every season he is plagued by Crabtree-like rookie holdouts(that don’t produce) well into the middle of the season-i hope veterans holdout ,get their money-then holdout to be traded or anything to distract the season so they lose every game – i hope every season he wastes millions trying to get people to play for the Rams – My Dad once told me “The best way to hurt a racist is to hurt his Wallet- I hope NFL players rob his ass Blind
The NFLPA has officially made their position clear – no Limbarf!
Got a link, ‘Randa?
Answered my own question
NFLPA against Rush Limbaugh’s bid for Rams
Chris Mortensen of ESPN reports that the NFLPA executive director Demaurice Smith and 7 NFL players have spoken out against an ownership group that would involve controversial personality Rush Limbaugh. Smith released a statement regarding Limbaugh’s bid “I’ve spoken to the Commissioner and I understand that this ownership consideration is in the early stages, but sport in America is at its best when it unifies, gives us all a reason to cheer, and when it transcends. Our sport does exactly that when it overcomes division and rejects discrimination and hatred.”
Here ya go:
http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/The_Trenches/entry/view/38530/demaurice_smith_opposes_limbaugh_bid_to_buy_rams
That’s great that they have started to put up some road blocks from letting that pig enter the league. I wonder if Cheketts will just end up being a proxy for him though.
One thing i have noticed in reading comments about this story, and other race related stories in the past few months or so is that many right wing racists have learned a new tactic – call anyone who points out obvious racism as someone who is racist towards whites. It’s going to be interesting to see how stupid right wing society can actually get… no wonder they all loved bush.
What stories would you have had ESPN do before the NFLPA released its statement? Implicit in this post is the presumption that ESPN reporters were doing nothing and intentionally ignoring the story. In fact, there was no real story to report until the union released a formal statement, and that didn’t happen until Saturday. What resulted was a pretty thorough denunciation of Limbaugh and his past.
As to Rush’s candidacy, somebody made an excellent point earlier: the existence of the Rooney Rule. There’s no way the NFL can brag about racial inclusion while approving the ownership group of a charlatan who views the Rooney Rule as a quota system. Accepting Limbaugh would instantly gut the policy. And it might lead to a legal challenge of it. Limbaugh’s enough of an egomaniac to join the club and then sue all of its members by alleging the Rooney Rule is unconstitutional.
I could foresee the following sequence of events:
1) Rush gets his team;
2) Rush whacks his coach;
3) Black coaches collectively boycott the interview process, thereby putting Rush in an awkward spot. Some could charge he’s ignoring the Rooney Rule. He’d rebut with his usual rhetorical bluster. “See?” he’d say. “They don’t want to interview. It’s their fault for not pursuing an opportunity.”
Does the NFL really want this sort of PR disaster?
RBD1966
Explain why there was no story until the union released a response?
ESPN couldn’t have conducted an informal poll of players? Or of owners? They couldn’t have offered a detailed report on Rush’s comments about black people in general and about the NFL in particular? They couldn’t have discussed the potential ramifications regarding the Rooney Rule or public funding?
You mean all the cats at SOMM could come up with all of these potential stories but the assignment editors at ESPN needed a response from the union before they could do anything?
That’s crap. ESPN runs with what they want to run with. They push the memes they want to push. If you pretend that they don’t, that’s on you.
Man, ESPN is always running polls on hypothetical questions on their sites aren’t they? They are actively hiding from this story. The silence is deafening
First thing: I don’t work for ESPN. I don’t know anybody in management there.
But in the interest of fairness, there is little evidence to suggest the network is running from this story:
Actually, ESPN has run a poll on this topic. It did so on Friday:
http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/post/_/id/4546365/friday
Additional items:
A site search for “Rush Limbaugh” indicates the story was covered in Around The Horn at least twice, on PTI at least twice; at least four blog posts; and an editorial cartoon.
All that occurred before the players union released its statement. C. Mortensen then covered that pretty thoroughly.
Oh, they ran a poll on it!… Oh, they mentioned it in one-minute segments on Limbaugh on shows that are filled with people not from ESPN… AND an editorial cartoon!!!!
That’s coverage!
See, it’s unthinking douche bags like you who ensure that racism persists in this country.
Context?
Fuck that. Not on your watch.
Coverage of Limbaugh relative to other hot button issues, like say, if Terrell Owens says something contentious in an interview?
Non-existent.
Except in a world where a total of three minutes of coverage = not running from a story.
And when Black people say, “Hey, this is racist! Leave it to White people to tell us how we should feel about topics that impact us.
Fucking idiot.
as i said earlier. espn tends to ignore stories when they are involved. (ie. erin andrews, joe theismann, fernando vina)
as this rush thing gets bigger. the collective media is going remind them, “oh yeah, didnt you guys think it was a good idea to hire him as an analyst?”
I think we can agree that the Owens coverage has been overboard and silly.
In general, the Owens-Rush thing isn’t an entirely accurate comparison because Owens is in the NFL and Limbaugh is still a long way from joining the club.
Now if his group wins the initial contest among other local suitors, then it becomes a bigger deal. Right now, they’re in the qualifying stage. There really isn’t enough of a clear and present danger at this point to justify an all-out interest in the story. That time may come, however.
On the charges of being a douche bag, a *($* idiot and a racist, I plead not guilty.
RBD
I don’t watch ESPN, so I will admit that my opinion on whether they had dedicated wall-to-wall coverage was based on the comments of people here, including yourself.
I particularly took issue with this comment by you “In fact, there was no real story to report until the union released a formal statement, and that didn’t happen until Saturday.”
So, since I don’t watch the network anymore, and you along with everyone else seemed to be accepting that ESPN was not devoting wall to wall coverage to this nationally covered controversy, I took it as fact. If it wasn’t, then I was wrong.
But, that still does not address your comment that ESPN should wait from an official statement from the player’s union before it starts going hard after this story? Given the network’s past history on many, MANY stories, that seems like some new crazy standard. ESPN has never let the player’s union dictate it’s coverage. EVER. So, why would that begin now?