Who says it's a crime? Many people are of the opinion that Rush's opinion is idiotic. His opinion is not a crime and neither is mine.
Why does race have to be dragged into things like this? Can we all not agree that McNabb hasn't played well this season and that his supporting cast, um, sucks? And leave it at that? I know, I know,...it is because of jabronis like Rush saying what he said. Well you should expect that from him because that is his job - to stir up controversy. Keeley said it best about him...an internet troll that is on television.
I love Rush's reaction to all of this... "We are supposed to have freedom of speech in this country..." Or something to that affect... I wonder where that was when he was banging the Dixie Chicks and whoever else spoke out agaist the war in Iraq. Funny how the whole freedom of speech things becomes important when your on the wrong side of the controversey... I agree, he is a shock jock on espn to cause trouble and increase ratings.. sadly enough its working.
Do you even know what free speech is? Free speech doesn't mean you are free from others criticizing you. It only means the government can't lock you up for saying something.
Rush was just wrong in his opinion. Kordell Stewert, Tony Banks, Akili Smith, Quincy Carter.......they aren't media darlings because of their race. On the field the NFL is probably the least racist place on earth. If you can get the job done, they don't care what race you are... DD
Amen, Dakota. If only everything was like that - get the job done, you are okay, but if you can't get it done, see ya later.
I couldn't resist Are you trying to turn this into an affirmitive action thing!!! Ok, seriously folks, I thought this was pretty cut and dry. Rush thinks that there is a media push to hype black QB's. In saying that, he belittled the accomplishments and hard work of not just Mcnabb, but all the really freaking good black QB's around the league and there are quite a few. It's not about accusing him of a crime, it's his opinion. But, his opinion on this and his obvious lies on his radio show are just validation of the opinion people like me have of Rush; HE'S AN *******.
these quotes from rush have been taken out of context. tom jackson wasn't offended, and michael irvin ended the segment by saying that "rush has a point, rush has a point". does it matter that the two african-americans in the conversation did not even acknowledge the racial component of rush's challenge? this is more about the messenger than the message. having said that, rush should have realized that many people want him to fail, and even bringing up the subject of race was stupid on his part.
I think that the NFL is just looking for a star quarterback. With the recent retirement of Marino, Elway, Aikman, Young and Favre getting old they need a new star.
I think having the best secondary and one of the top defenses in the league may have had something to do with it.
Black man succeeds, it's because of the system. Black man fails, it's because of him. Same old story.
It doesn't matter if Irvin (who isn't known for his intellect) or Jackson (who didn't look to happy with Rushes comments, himself) were publically offended. You're right, people do want to see Rush fail. Just as people always want to see certain (Pube or Dim) political/controversial figures fail. At the same time, Rush been interjecting his politics into his sports commentary. Though nothing has been as potentially inflammatory as last weeks diatribe on black QBs. Eventually he was gonna get challeged. In a sense he does have a point, the media is pulling for a certain type of quarterback. But it isn't black quarterbacks the media is in love with. It is the athletic, scrambling quarterback the media is hailing. Most of those types happen to be black. In my opinion, Rush overstated his point and erred in using McNabb as an example. Also, we needn't forget that the NFL isn't some perfect meritocracy. There is plenty of prejudice to go around in the NFL... even against white guys. QB is the last on field position in which blacks have gained acceptance. I am sure Doug Williams can attest to that. While in some ways it may be a more progressive institution, the NFL reflects the atitudes of its owners and chief executives who in turn reflect the same prejudices and misconceptions as the greater society.
jeffb- diatribe- a bitter, abusive denunciation. you are completely mischaracterizing rush's comments. rush stated that the media wants black quarterbacks and coaches to do well, which is true. i think most decent people want to see racial barriers torn down, and the perceptions that blacks can't quarterback or coach are anachronistic. rush is saying that the media enhanced the effectiveness of mcnabb as a qb because of mcnabb's color, which is a debatable topic. mcnabb's response, and yours, is meant to damage limbaugh at the expense of truth, imho.
Here's King Kaufman's take: http://www.salon.com/news/sports/co...//images.salon.com/src/ads/care2/care2_3.html Oct. 1, 2003 | I missed Rush Limbaugh's ESPN performance Sunday, during which he said Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb has been overrated by a media that wants to see a black quarterback do well. But I really didn't have to see it. I knew it was coming. "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," the Associated Press reported Limbaugh saying. "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." After he made his absurd statement this summer that "football's a lot like life," I wrote, "There are surely more Limbaugh observations where that one came from." So here you go. I also wrote, in a column reviewing his Week 1 performance, that I don't think Limbaugh's a racist. Many readers took issue with that, providing evidence of his racially biased statements over the years. He's being pasted this week for racism over his McNabb comments, but again, I think what he says isn't motivated by racism, but by his political agenda, which is driven by hatred and fear not of black people but of what he perceives to be "the liberal media." This monolithic, unthinking monster has its own agenda, Limbaugh believes, and would stop at nothing to advance it. (Note to chief operatives of the liberal media: I'm not getting the memos about the meetings!) The fact that there's no evidence that the mainstream media is biased toward blacks, and plenty of evidence to the contrary -- quick, name the last five black people you saw on TV who weren't athletes, entertainers or accused criminals -- means nothing to Limbaugh. He's got his story and he's sticking to it. There's no shortage of talented black quarterbacks -- Mike Vick, anyone? Steve McNair? -- but apparently the monolithic blob of liberal mediadom has decided that Comrade McNabb must be exalted at any price. So is McNabb overrated? In the sense that he's gotten some credit for winning games that should go to the Eagles defense, yes. And so is every other quarterback who ever played for a team with a good defense. And every quarterback who ever played for a team with a bad defense has been underrated by that metric. But there are other ways of measuring how good McNabb has been. Sabermetrics, the application of the scientific method to analyzing sports statistics, hasn't made the advances in football that it has in baseball, but there are folks out there trying. The people at the Football Project publish an annual book called "Football Prospectus" that attempts to measure the effectiveness of players using statistical methods that account for all of the variables that complicate football analysis. The idea is to give a clearer picture of how good a player is than simple stats like yards gained, touchdowns scored or the NFL's bizarre "passer rating" formula do. The book's best stat is "adjusted yards," which is aimed at rewarding a player for yards gained per attempt and touchdowns scored while penalizing him for yards lost and turnovers. It isn't perfect, since no statistic is, but it is colorblind. Without getting too deeply into what the actual number means, "Football Prospectus" credits McNabb with 1,253.5 adjusted yards in 2002. What's important to note is that that was good for 10th best in the league, just behind Drew Bledsoe and ahead of Tom Brady. The league leader was Rich Gannon with 1,916.5. But hang on a second. McNabb missed six games with a broken ankle last year. (And famously played one game on it.) Prorated to a full season, his adjusted yards total would have been 1,976.8, best in the NFL, and more than 200 yards better than anyone not named Rich Gannon, the league MVP. Here's what the book's authors, Sean Lahman and Todd Greanier, card-carrying liberals, no doubt, had to say about McNabb: "When McNabb was originally drafted Philly fans booed him, but they have sure had a change of heart. We figured McNabb for a big season last year and have no reason to think otherwise this season. Some say McNabb was having an MVP-caliber season before the ankle injury. We will never know what might have been, but he is our early pick for the MVP in 2003." That hasn't played out. McNabb has gotten off to a bad start in 2003, and observers agree that his mechanics are off. He's never been the most accurate passer around, but the passing ability he does have combined with his mobility and leadership make him one of the top quarterbacks in the game when he's right. Fans in Philadelphia, who are not part of the liberal media, and who are famous for booing Santa Claus, know that. But you didn't need me to tell you that McNabb can play. You could have guessed it as soon as Rush Limbaugh said he was a creation of the liberal media.
I never said Donovan McNabb was superman. I just was taking a shot a Rush's comments which were totally out of line, or at least uniformed.
