What a ****ing moron. Reminiscent of Mike Price (sort of). Short lived. http://msn.espn.go.com/gen/news/2003/1001/1628537.html Limbaugh resigns from NFL show ESPN.com news services In the wake of his controversial statements regarding Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, Rush Limbaugh has resigned from his position on ESPN's NFL pregame show. ESPN has accepted the resignation. Limbaugh issued a statement late Wednesday night in which he wrote: "My comments this past Sunday were directed at the media and were not racially motivated. I offered an opinion. This opinion has caused discomfort to the crew, which I regret. "I love NFL Sunday Countdown and do not want to be a distraction to the great work done by all who work on it. "Therefore, I have decided to resign. I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of the show and wish all the best to those who make it happen." George Bodenheimer, President, ESPN and ABC Sports, issued the following response: "We accept his resignation and regret the circumstances surrounding this. We believe that he took the appropriate action to resolve this matter expeditiously." I knew Dennis Miller would have been better.
Kudos to Rush for stepping down instead of apologizing for doing nothing wrong. From the way things sound, Rush could have kept his job with an apology. I'm glad Rush did not yield to the angry mob of race-baiters and extortionists and kept to his stance on the issue. A stance that makes perfect sense to those who are able to see beyond the guilt-inspired suppression of all racial topics in normal discourse.
Maybe ESPN knew he sucked ass and were going to get rid of him anyways. They probably told himto say something controversial so they'll get a little publicity out of it and save some face...
In a way it was because that is what Rush was drawing attention to... the overestimation of an under-accomplishing McNabb. Rush didn't even say he wasn't a good quarterback; he just said he wasn't the star that some in the media were making him out to be.
Agreed, he was terrible, just terrible on the show regardless of this. He would just buzz in at random moments, make terribly inane observations that have no factual support (The Chiefs aren't very good, Houston is going to beat them! The Patriots aren't going to miss Lawyer Milloy at all, they're going to kill Buffalo!) and made it seem like he never watched an NFL game in his life. Then he would get tooled on by Michael Irvin, for gods sake, who would EXPOSE his lack of expertise, and all the other jocks on the set would laugh at him. I almost wished he would stay on the show just so that he could be further humiliated.
I hate that he stepped down. Our country is too darned PC...and it stinks. His opinion was WRONG, but so what? He is entitled to be wrong....heck....most of the liberals on here are wrong each and every day, but we don't ask them to stop posting. DD
Hey! And sometimes both sides unite for the common good... like booting Walmart's sorry *** out of the CCR area. (not that people like me aren't the minority out there, but so what? )
Yes, he is entitled to be wrong, which is why he has a nationally syndicated radio show. His job on ESPN Countdown, however, was to provide unbiased FOOTBALL commentary, without baseless racist undertones. His beliefs just so happened to conflict with that of ESPN. ESPN has a right to dictate what is said on the air. Rush had only been on the job for a few weeks. ESPN was afraid that next time, he would say something even more ridiculous, making the network look even worse. It's bad for business.
Baqui, That is the most naive post I have ever seen from you. Just imagine the ratings of gameday if Rush stayed on the show? Ratings are king, and this would have only helped the show. Heck....Michael Irvin was even saying "Rush has a point, Rush has a point" just after the comments. Typical people just trying to bring down the top dog any way they can. DD
I don't understand why Disney/Espn hired him in the first place if they couldn't stand the heat. I mean, why else bring him onto the show, if you don't expect him to say things like this? I don't think there was that much media pressure on him to resign. This story has been page 4 material. But now he gets something to whine about on his radio show again.
It's a relative thing. How he is esteemed versus how he actually performs. Hey, I'll take Donovan McNabb as my quarterback anyday... when McNair retires!
Exactly. And it seems to be a one-way street as well. Most conservative people here still support the right to express the freedom however one wishes. There is now the story of the Detroit high school kid who wore a shirt that said Bush is a Terrorist. As despicable as I think it is, I have no problem with his RIGHT to do so. I do think Rush went overboard with his comments, but that was his job, to incite controversy and bring BIASED opinion to the set. To be forced to resign shows that this nation is way too preocupied with race.
i wish i had actually seen the quote in its context rather than reading it in print later. i know berman said that it certainly didn't sound as bad as it read later. but i didn't know that irvin was defending rush's point, either...or at least acknowledging it as credible. that's interesting.
Wrong and wrong. His job is to bring in viewers to the show. He was widely known for instigating contentious debates, and that's why ESPN hired him. ESPN didn't have a bad opinion of his statements until the media blew it out of proportion, took it out of context, and completely changed what was said. Then they reissued their opinion on his statements.
ESPN is not stupid, that's why they accepted his resignation. Rush's diarrhea of the mouth has the potential to hurt them financially and they did what was best in their interest. Nothing wrong with that.
