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| Username | Post |
| VincentBodega | Posted
on 09-Oct-03 04:41 AM
So what do you guys think about his case? Is there actual end to racism? How do you balance free speech and racism? Dont you think theres some kinda double standard that we live in? Feel free to post. Anything goes... No censorship. |
| DWI | Posted
on 09-Oct-03 05:26 AM
Personally, I think what Rush said is probably right. McNabb is a great quarterback who not only has a good arms to throw a perfect pass but also good feet to run, unlike most other QBs. But media might have overrated him over the years like it did for black coaches (Herm included). But the point is, he is not severly overated. He has the caliber to join the group of big guns and can prove his worth any single day. No doubt Eagles are a great defensive team, but how can you forget those plays that McNabb made that weren't even written in coach's cards. Rush was right, as much as that crackhead of Atlanta Braves (forgot the name already), who said no 7 train to flushing is filled with spanish, pregnant women & even guys with AIDS (???). It might be true, but you don't go out in the media announcing these things..that too in a harmful manner. Both of them sounded racist and rightfully so. There is a difference between true speech and right speech, Rush certainly didn't made the latter one. Call it double standard or else, it wasn't something the society needed at this point. |
| Ruby | Posted
on 09-Oct-03 08:03 AM
I agree with you DWI, however, most white people in this coountry are jealous of the black supremecy in Sports. Generally, white bots in high school know that they have very little chance of going in pro football or basketball. I think that is why US is funnelling more money nto Soccer, b/c its one of the few only white sports remaining. Estai cha yaha ko chalan. Hockey, though is mainly white, but it is a very expensive sport to play. Rush was prolly high on whatver pills he took, when he went on air that day! |
| laxmankaka | Posted
on 09-Oct-03 09:16 AM
( From: http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/10/06/column.shields.opinion.limbaugh/) Rush Limbaugh does not understand American sports Monday, October 6, 2003 Posted: 10:48 AM EDT (1448 GMT) WASHINGTON (Creators Syndicate) -- We begin with a story that seems especially appropriate this week. The salesman who is selling Frank a new car says: "This car radio has the very latest feature. It is entirely voice-activated. You simply tell it what you want to listen to, and the station changes. It's a great safety feature, because you never have to take your hands off the wheel to touch the dials." With his new car and new car radio, Frank is driving down the highway. He says, "Classical," and, in an instant, on comes an FM station playing Beethoven. Next, Frank says, "Country and western," and the songs of Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn fill the car. Just then, a guy in a fancy sports car runs a stop sign and cuts Frank off, almost forcing him off the road. "Moron," mutters Frank at the offending driver -- and the radio station switches to Rush Limbaugh. This has nothing to do with whether Rush Limbaugh was being racially insensitive when he said on ESPN's "N.F.L. Sunday Countdown " show that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was " not that good" and was simply being promoted by an uncritical sports press corps "because the media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well." Maybe the show's host Chris Berman was right when he told The Associated Press that he did not think Limbaugh had been malicious in his intent. What I do know for sure is that Rush Limbaugh does not understand that in America competitive sports are probably the most admirably democratic of our public activities. Whether your ancestors came over on the Mayflower or your Spanish-speaking family arrived two weeks ago makes no difference if you can hit the curve ball. When the game is on the line and you are at the foul line to shoot two free throws, the size of your parents' stock portfolio or your scrapbook full of flattering press clippings entitles you to no special consideration . You are on your own. Sports are wonderfully egalitarian. In our atomized and stratified society, sports teams still bring people together, as participants and fans, in a common purpose. Golf and tennis -- once limited to the white, native upper-class -- are now respectively dominated by Tiger Woods, the son of an African-American father and an Asian mother, and the Williams sisters ,Venus and Serena, who are African-American. Does Rush's fuzzy logic lead him to conclude that the remarkable successes of these champions -- on the links and on the courts -- are all the product of a press box teeming with bleeding-heart, liberal-leftist sportswriters? Forget that Donovan McNabb has been selected to three straight Pro Bowls, or ALL-Star games, chosen for that honor by his professional peers, his opponents and teammates in the National Football League. Overlook that in his first full season as the starting quarterback, McNabb finished second in the voting to pick the league's most valuable player. Ignore that as quarterback he has directed his team to consecutive conference championship games. But do not pretend that somehow these distinctions were conferred upon Donovan McNabb by some sinister, race-mixing conspirators with press passes College admissions are often influenced by whether the applicant's father and grandfather have been generous alums of the school or her mother is a waitress. Access on Capitol Hill can be decided by how recently you made a four-figure contribution to the right committee chairman. But all the connections and contacts in the world and the personal intervention of a Cabinet officer are of no help when it's third and long, and your teammates look to you for inspiration and leadership. That is why sports remain so indispensable to the robustness of our democratic values. It's too bad Rush Limbaugh understood so little about sports. |
| VincentBodega | Posted
on 09-Oct-03 10:41 AM
The intro to the previous article from cnn is pretty weak. "Rush Limbaugh does not understand American sports," did anyone try to understand Rush. After what he said came out on air, it didnt matter what he meant or felt it was all about what we heard for that two minutes. Ok this is what I think. I dont think Rush L. should have been made to quit the show. Well he said something that was not PC but he said what he felt and thought and who are we to tell him to think one certain way. We talk about white supremacy in this country and I see reverse racism in practise. Well if a black makes fun of a white guy, thats because he/she had been suppressed for hundreds of years and bla bla bla. If a black makes fun of a black its a joke. But if the same thing is done by a white, its a racism. Thats bogus!!! I believe in NO CENSORSHIP what so ever. If you dont like whats being said, you are given ears with ear drums, stuff something in it. Noone is asking you to listen. Dont listen. Lets not make everyone think alike, cuz thats pretty boring... |
| laxmankaka | Posted
on 09-Oct-03 11:12 AM
The issue here is not about CENSORSHIP at all. The issue is to have everyone's opinion heard. Rush Limbaugh's radio show is fine. He gives his rightwing-opinion and if I disagree with it, I can call 800 number to argue with him. But on ESPN Sports show I can't do that. It is all his say - just one way arguments. That is not democracy. The reason for him getting fired: ESPN Sport program is not a right plantform for him. I tune ESPN to see a game of good football not to listen to some guy giving me his/her opinion on race, etc. I want news, not opinion. I am smart enough to draw my own, ...opinion that is. Thats all. |
| nepali_angel | Posted
on 09-Oct-03 02:20 PM
I don't think the question is whether he was right or wrong. Certainly, it was racist and he had no other choice but to resign. Limbaugh brought in a completely alien idea into the equation because the way I see it it's okay to judge someone's performance, but to blatantly point to his race for his shortcomings reeks of racism and nothing more. ESPN **did** however want Limbaugh to be as controversial as possible, and he claims they bailed out on him, but I think there's a limit to everything; you cross a certain threshold and things become unbearable after all. So, even if Mcnab was overrated, there are certain ways to put it, even if you wanna be controversial. No need to rub in the whole affirmative action BS and make the guy feel guilty for his race. |
| AX | Posted
on 09-Oct-03 03:04 PM
I second you DWI. I did not see any racial slur on Rush's comment. If it was anyone else but someone perceived as a right wing Caucasian, it may have passed by unnoticed. It amazes me that presidential candidate like Dean and General Clark started to play on it. I do not agree with lots of thing what Rush's preaches on his radio show. If you want to listen to the racially charged comments, all one has to do is watch the Listen UP hosted by Charles Barkley, a celebrated former NBA superstar who is black. Are double standards at work here? ESPN hired him to get the ratings up and thats exactly what happened thanks to Rushs comments. Perhaps not quite in the manner they had planned, but it occurred nevertheless. ESPN and viewers knew what to expect from Rush. It's now a mockery to see ESPN and his fellow broadcaster Tom Jackson to diss him after his resignation. Tom and ESPN wanted to ride high on the TV ratings, and now Rush is gone they attack his credibility. If Tom Jackson was so concerned about players of color in the NFL, it is strange to note that he did not utter a single word when Stuart Scott, also black, remarked that Oakland "pimp slapped" the Titans, in describing the thrashing the Titans received. When Rush said McNabb is an over rated QB he was correct. If we have to name top 5 current QBs, McNabb won't be on such a list. He is a good quarterback who can run but the media hype is greater than his abilities. We have repeatedly seen that NFL wants minority (specifically blacks) in the league. NFL has a policy that a team must interview black candidate(s) before hiring a coach. NFL is promoting black players and coaches as hard as they can. I find this distasteful in the extent they are pursuing it. When the Lions hired Steve Mariauci, NFL fined the team and the it's prez Matt Millen for not considering a black candidate. That was a no brainer: Steve was the best coach available and Lions hired him. Race had nothing to do with it. If more Asians, Asian Americans, maybe even Nepalis, also start to play in NFL, should the team be forced to consider Asians coaches as well? It's just doesnt seem right. |
| DWI | Posted
on 09-Oct-03 04:04 PM
Ax,I couldn't put in better words. Specially I totally agree about his co-hosts dissing him after he was gone. They were like ,"he didn't discuss it to us in pre-show briefing." and started calling him racists. Also, it is considered okay when Charles Barkley or any other sportsman turned black host passes such racist comments. There is a double standard. Also, Ruby, you are right. One of the reason Hockey is around is the one that you stated (well I do like hockey too, but I said ONE of the reason). But the point is Rush should have known better. Such a veteran announcer should know that every words that come out of such authoritive figures are weighed 20 times in media across. Do you remember what he said about druggists. Something on the line of hanging them or sending them out of the country. Now, the word is that he was an addict himself, getting some medical drugs from one of his affiliate/acquaintence (maids?) |