Interesting topic Houston. Bill O'Reilly tackled the subject the other night. I agree with his assesment:
"Fair-minded Americans know that playing the race card is easy and hateful. The only thing we can find about Rush Limbaugh is that he thinks quarterback Donovan McNabb is overrated by some people who want black quarterbacks to succeed. Mr. McNabb resented the remark, as he should have. He's a good player and his color has nothing to do with his performance. I think Limbaugh made a mistake with that analysis, but that doesn't make him a racist and should not disqualify him from owning part of a team.
Let's stop the racial witch-hunting in America."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,567740,00.html
Now, Let's look at the Limbaugh statement about McNabb in its entirity. This statement is the one allegedly keeping Limbaugh out of the NFL:
"Sorry to say this, I don't think he's (McNabb) been that good from the get-go," Limbaugh said. "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. 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."
ESPN's official statement, released after the comments
"Although Mr. Limbaugh today stated that his comments had 'no racist intent whatsoever,' we have communicated to Mr. Limbaugh that his comments were insensitive and inappropriate. Throughout his career, he has been consistent in his criticism of the media's coverage of a myriad of issues," the statement read.
I've said many times that Kirk Hinrich is the most overrated Chicago Bulls player in history. Are there racist undertones behind his popularity? I don't think so...I know a ton of Hinrich lovers, and I highly doubt that they are racist. But IMO, the media tends to highlight uniqueness, especially in terms of race. Hinrich is the rare white guard who can actually play at an NBA level, and the media gives him a greater focus. At the time of Limbaugh's comments, McNabb was arguably the best black quarterback in the NFL, but he hadn't made it to a Super Bowl (he would in 2004), and some felt there was a little too much hype about a player with zero Super Bowl appearances. When you get down to it, he was criticizing the media. Was it a dumb statement? Sure. But racist? By that same logic, couldn't you argue that I'm racist against white NBA players because I think Hinrich sucks?
My wife's father moved here from the Phillipines. That country used to be ruled by Ferdinand Marcos for many years. If you were supportive or friendly with Marcos, you could do business there. If not, you couldn't. It's no way to live. If we continue down this path, how long will it be before people are fleeing the U.S., because they aren't in good graces of the ruling political party? Regardless of how you feel about Limbaugh, it's something to consider.
So when you get down to it, Houston brought up a good point. We're walking down a slippery slope when you start preventing people from completing business transactions in a free market because they have different political viewpoints than you. In fact, that's anything but a free market. There is nothing wrong with Jay-Z owning a team. There is nothing wrong with Rush Limbaugh owning a team. And there is nothing wrong with me owning the Bulls, with the possible exception that my first move would be to trade Kirk Hinrich for a real nice backboard.
