While I somewhat agreed with what they were saying, I thought it was kinda p***y to say something. If they really feel that way (which I'm sure they do), I think they would've been better served with a simple apology to Donovan and moved on.
I kept waiting for kumbaya to start playing. I dont like Rush, but I thought this was a load of crap, too. I dont think Jackson and Irvin deserved criticism for not saying anything during Rush's little commentary, they are sportscasters, not debaters. But this rebuttal was weak. Tom Jackson is sooooo strong saying all that A WEEK AFTER Rush made his comments. Thats like getting beat up and then, after the bully walks away, yelling "Chinga tu madre" and running.
Absolutely. It's really easy to blast someone a week later when that person's not there. They had several opportunities to counter Rush's ignorant statements, but they didn't. No, they're not debaters, but a simple "Dude, you're full of sh*t" would have sufficed. That said, on CBS, Deion Sanders made some very good points. Sanders isn't known as an intellectual giant, but he was right on. In a nutshell: I feel sorry for Rush Limbaugh for two reasons. First, I wasn't hired for this show to talk about sushi. I was hired because of my insider's knowledge of football. Rush has NO knowledge about football. So what is he gonna do. Do what he knows: Making a scene about race, religion, and politics....this wasn't the place and he crossed way over the line...Second, I feel sorry for Rush because racism is based on ignorance. And he is so ignorant on the subject that he STILL doesn't understand that he did anything wrong.
ditto here. I wanted to see them blast him, though I agree with RM95 in that it's a little too late for them to be talking **** when they just sat back and let it happen.
Basically all of them said they should have responded to the statement when it was said. Steve Young compared the situation to something that happened when he was a young QB. Because he didn't look up and throw the ball to his wide open receiver the 49ers lost the game. The next day the team watched the film and Steve said, all i had to do was look up and we would have won the game. To sum the rest of it up they said ESPN made a mistake and Rush was completely wrong and they wanted to get back to football. Personally i thought it was pointless to waste the first 15 minutes discussing this. I think it was blown way out of proportion in the first place. Granted, i haven't agreed with anything Rush has said in the 3 or 4 weeks he was there. The NFL Countdown crew shouldn't have had to answer any questions
Rush was right on and he never should have been forced out OR resigned unless his commentary breached some agreement with ESPN. What he said was observational. I wonder how many interviews McNabb has done in the last few years about being a black quarterback in the NFL? I thought Tom Jackson was going to cry. What can I say .... typical liberal emotion command center. I noticed in the replay of the broadcast that they cut it short of Michael Irvin's statement of agreement that "Rush has a point..." Bunch of fools if you ask me.
According to reports, Jackson was so upset that he didn't challenge Rush immediately, he had plans to come into this week's meeting, lower the boom on Rush and quit. If he had, the others would have had to either follow suit or give credence to Rush's rant. In the pre-show meetings when they planned a discussion about McNabb, Rush gave no indication he would take the tack he did not appear at the post-show meeting.
There's an extensive article by Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News. It ran in today's Albuquerque Journal, but I can't find a complete version on the web and the Daily News has a deal where you can't read it unless you pay. Here's some similar language from Raissman's column today... _____________ Judging by the reaction of ESPN's "NFL Countdown" crew, Rush Limbaugh's racist comments concerning Donovan McNabb caught them by surprise. There is good reason to believe none of them should have been. On Saturday, Sept. 27, the day before Limbaugh offered his sleazy commentary, which eventually led him to resign, the entire "Countdown" team met in a production meeting. And they all, except Limbaugh, talked about what they would contribute to a segment on McNabb. "They had that meeting on Saturday so they knew they were going to talk about McNabb on Sunday," a well-embedded mole said. "But Rush gave no hint he was thinking about this (his eventual 'media is desirous that a black quarterback do well' comments)." On his Friday radio show, Limbaugh said he had indeed given much thought to his commentary the day before delivering it on "Countdown." Limbaugh did not say why he didn't tell the rest of the crew - Tom Jackson, Steve Young, Michael Irvin, Chris Berman - what he was planning to say. However, he did say he considered all the guys to be friends. If he is sincere about this then why didn't he give them a heads-up on what was coming? Unless, of course, he is full of baloney and got a kick out of hanging the "Countdown" cast out to dry. Anyway, after the controversy was in full bloom last week, Limbaugh said he told ESPN suits about his plan for a "Countdown" segment where "people who have a problem" with what he said could debate him, "on a program that will be the most-watched edition of this program ever." Limbaugh said he was told the "existing cast members" would not want to participate in that segment. "When I was told that, that is when I decided to resign," Limbaugh said. The fact the ESPN brass would not follow Limbaugh's plan for high ratings is a major upset. According to one source, since the arrival of ESPN executive VP Mark Shapiro, the "Countdown" cast has been given a singular mission: "The message was you guys better get used to a different game because we are only about ratings," the mole said. "It was a clear message. It wasn't hidden."
Here's the abstract from the Daily News site for the story I was referencing... _____________ Spies say [Tom Jackson Rush Limbaugh] was "beating himself up" for not responding directly to Limbaugh's racist remarks concerning Donovan McNabb on Sunday. Limbaugh said he never thought McNabb was "that good" of a quarterback. Jackson's colleagues would have either taken an integrity hit, giving tacit support to Limbaugh and his warped perspective, or followed Jackson out the door. If Limbaugh had stayed and Jackson ...
Portions from the article as it appeared in the ABQ Journal... (typos mine) _____________ "Spies say Jackson was "beating himself up" for not responding directly to Limbaugh's racist remarks concerning Donovan McNabb on Sunday. Limbaugh said he never thought McNabb was "that good" of a quarterback." 'But McNabb was upset that none of the "Countdown" crew... had directly challenged Limbaugh's noxious spew." "Jackson, who did challenge the football element of Limbaugh's commentary but not the racist part, also caught heat in some media quarters and from some of his friends." "On Wednesday, Jackson told an ESPN executive he was going to attend the "Countdown" production meeting, tell Limbaugh what he thought, quit the show, and fly home." "Jackson's decision to bolt was a major pressure point leading to Limbaugh's resignation. Well before Limbaugh's McNabb statement, the "Countdown" scene couldn't be described as a lovefest. Some staffers were uneasy and angry when Limbaugh was hired. They knew he was capable of stirring the pot in a negative way. So, when it happened, Jackson got burned for not responding to Limbaugh. The fuel for this particular fire was provided bythe ESPN executives who hired Limbaugh. Perhaps that's why Jackson was so angry. After all, it wasn't his idea to ire someone who brought absolutely nothing to teh table in terms of football knowledge."
I suppose then when millions of people around the country are observing Limbaugh as a bigot and an ignorant fool that they're talking about you too.
Why? I said that I would be happy to have Donovan McNabb as my quarterback. How racist is that? Just another example of your blind attack methodology. You really need to think about what you write-- especially when it is about another person.
Yes. You people are unbelievable. I'm sorry but the arrogance of the liberal mind is just a thing to behold.
