Rush Limbaugh as a potential NFL owner

[CountDeMoney]

Because it deserves its own thread.

Personally, I've missed the sort of overt, over-the-top racism in professional sports ownership we haven't had since Margie "I've never referred to any of my porchmonkeys as niggers" Schott.

My brother-in-law, diehard St. Louis sports fan, is having gas over it.

Some excerpts from around the world of sports:

No reason to deny him
John Altavilla, Hartford Courant

As Rush Limbaugh would be the first to say, the foundation of the United States is based on principles laid out by our forefathers. Included in these unalienable rights, although not specifically spelled out in the pre-expansion days of the 18th century, is the right to buy a chunk of the St. Louis Rams.

Therefore, why should our foremost ultra-conservative be prohibited, based solely on any objection to his viewpoint, from buying a piece of anything he wants. As Rush says, this a country whose growth is rooted in the initiative of capitalists. So let him in. But what happens if a liberal wants a beer, an Obama voter a hot dog, a supporter of health care reform a luxury suite?

We know one thing. The offense will be conservative. And coaches, not known for running a democratic system, will be right at home.

He would be a perfect fit
Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times

Rush Limbaugh? The owner of an NFL team?

Let me get this straight, you're talking about an egotistical blowhard with mountains of money, somebody who thinks he's the smartest guy in every room and isn't afraid to act like it, who takes a my-way-or-the-highway to every problem, who wouldn't be afraid to charge top dollar regardless of what type of product he puts on the field, who would threaten to uproot his team if his community doesn't pony up hundreds of millions of dollars to help pay for a state-of-the-art stadium?

Rush Limbaugh as an NFL owner?

Should fit in fine.

Character no prerequisite
Dan Pompei, Chicago Tribune

If Rush Limbaugh is qualified to own a part of an NFL franchise based on his financials and his business acumen, his opinions should have nothing to do with whether or not he is approved. Last I checked, this is America, and there is this thing called the First Amendment which guarantees freedom of speech.

If Limbaugh believes, as he once said, that the white media wants black quarterbacks like Donovan McNabb to succeed, that is his right. Anyone who sees it differently can disagree with him, and it should have nothing to do with his eligibility for owning a team. Why should anyone be penalized because they don't agree with the politically correct answers, or they don't fall in line with the mainstream opinions? If you don't like what Limbaugh says, don't listen to him. But don't try to prevent him from taking advantage of a business opportunity.

He would be interesting
Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel

Rush Limbaugh would be a great NFL owner-at least for me. He'd be a walking, talking lightning rod. He'd be worth a dozen columns a year with the stuff he says, just like left-hanging Michael Moore would if he bought a team.

Limbaugh once said an NFL game was like watching a fight between the "Bloods and the Crips without any weapons." He once said slavery wasn't such a bad thing - "Quite the opposite: It built the South." That's the daily stuff beyond his ESPN line that the media propped up Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb because he is black. The NFL's problem with Limbaugh is obvious: He comes with a cost. Many fans, sponsors - and don't forget players - wouldn't want to be associated with him. And you blame them?

Black NFL players crush prospect of playing for a Rush Limbaugh-owned St. Louis Rams

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."

Limbaugh said on Tuesday that he is joining former Knicks president and Madison Square Garden CEO Dave Checketts in a group bidding to purchase the Rams. Checketts, who owns the NHL's St. Louis Blues, is heading the group, reportedly one of many bidders. The potential sale is still in an early stage. If the Rams are sold, St. Louis will choose one bidding group, which will then be subject to a vote by the NFL's 32 owners, with approval needed by 24 of them.

Limbaugh's controversial comments are well-known. He resigned from ESPN in 2003 after he said the media were "very desirous that a black quarterback do well" in reference to Philadelphia's Donovan McNabb being overrated. "If he's rewarded to buy them, congratulations to him," McNabb said during his weekly press conference. "But I won't be in St. Louis anytime soon."

Scott says players remember what Limbaugh said, and adds that the NFL would be wise not to allow the nationally syndicated host into the league. "It's an oxymoron that he criticized Donovan McNabb," Scott said. "A lot of us took it as more of a racial-type thing. I can only imagine how his players would feel. I know I wouldn't want to play for him. He's a jerk. He's an ---. What he said (about McNabb) was inappropriate and insensitive, totally off-base. He could offer me whatever he wanted, I wouldn't play for him. ... I wouldn't play for Rush Limbaugh. My principles are greater and I can't be bought."

Limbaugh, who grew up in Missouri about 100 miles south of St. Louis, is an avid sports fan who once said that "the NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips without any weapons."

Kiwanuka cringes at the idea of Limbaugh becoming an NFL owner. "They are flat-out racist," Kiwanuka said of many of Limbaugh's statements. "He jumps on Obama and he jumps on other people for being racist. But a lot of the comments that he said, I feel like they have no place in journalism. It is just an opinion show that should be only be taken for shock value. I liken it to 'South Park' when I am listening to him."

"I love Spags and would play for him in a heartbeat, but under that situation ... obviously trades you have no control over, but if it was a free-agent thing, I wouldn't care if I only had one offer on the table, I would rather stay a free agent."

What say you?

[Kleves]

I say McNabb's overrated.

[CountDeMoney]

I say McNabb's overrated.

[Eddie Teach]

How many of the Eagles quit the team when Vick joined?

It's easy for these guys now to say they won't play for the Rams. A lot tougher when the Rams come along offering them the best deal. Especially as Limbaugh won't even be the principal owner.

[Neil]

It's easy for these guys now to say they won't play for the Rams. A lot tougher when the Rams come along offering them the best deal. Especially as Limbaugh won't even be the principal owner.

Yep.

[Razgovory]

My dad who's from St. Louis is really pissed.  Maybe Limbaugh will buy the Rams and move them to his home town down in Cape.

[Vince]

I look forward to Rush blasting NFL Total Access as part of the Liberal Media the next time Deion Sanders badmouths the Rams.

[Valmy]

I am very desirous that a partisan Republican radio comentator do well in the NFL.

[Razgovory]

I am very desirous that a partisan Republican radio comentator do well in the NFL.

I think most of them are little too old and out of shape to play.

[grumbler]

My dad who's from St. Louis is really pissed.  Maybe Limbaugh will buy the Rams and move them to his home town down in Cape.

It isn't like the LA Rams belong in St Louis anyway.

[Eddie Teach]

Does LA still not have an NFL team? 

[derspiess]

Does LA still not have an NFL team? 

Nope, nor do they deserve one.

[Neil]

My dad who's from St. Louis is really pissed.  Maybe Limbaugh will buy the Rams and move them to his home town down in Cape.

It isn't like the LA Rams belong in St Louis anyway.

If not St. Louis, then where do they belong?

[Eddie Teach]

Does LA still not have an NFL team? 

Nope, nor do they deserve one.

They can do like New York and adopt the Chargers.

[FunkMonk]

No one in St. Louis cares about the Rams anyway. They'll just as likely demolish the stadium and build a St. Louis Cardinals Theme Park on its ruins.