I know we as NFL players are supposed to be quiet about certain issues but I MUST speak for my peers/brothers who go to work and lay it on the line every week. Everyone knows that the NFL owners, commissioner, and players are all charged to “Protect the Shield”. The commissioner and owners have made it glaringly clear with the frequent suspensions of players that the NFL will clean up its image. It is important for everyone associated with the NFL to maintain a high level of integrity including owners. I love the game of football and the NFL for all that it has given me and opportunities it has afforded me. This is exactly why I MUST say what my peers want to say but most feel like they cannot.
Rush Limbaugh, voted the most influential person in talk radio with over 13 million listeners per week wants to become an NFL owner, specifically of the the St. Louis Rams. Limbaugh is partnering with Dave Checketts, owner of the St. Louis Blues (NHL) in a bid to buy the team. Approving Limbaugh, even though he would not be the sole owner of the team, would be a Gigantic step back for the league as a whole and compromise the “Shield”. He is a racist, bigot, and an idiot for so many of his comments that are spoken from the heart. Here is a brief list:
“Feminism was established to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream.”
“I mean, let’s face it, we didn’t have slavery in the country for over 100 years because it was a bad thing. Quite the opposite: slavery built the South. I’m not saying we should bring it back; I’m just saying it had its merits. For one thing, the streets were safer after dark.”
“They’re 12 percent of the population. Who the hell cares?”
“Look, let me put it to you this way: the NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips without any weapons. There, I said it”
With these type of comments can you image how he would run a franchise? How would he treat his players and employees both white and non-white? The growing diversity in the front office will be stifled with ownership like this. The NFL is America’s favorite game based on television ratings and revenue. America is made up of almost every race and creed represented on the planet, does the NFL want one of the leaders of the league to be spreading hate, closed-minded thinking, and messages against everything the NFL stands for.
In a league where 67% of its players are African American, 25% of its League office are non-whites, 19% of its senior administrator positions are women, and 5 out the last six Superbowl teams have either had an African American coach or General Manager (Tony Dungy (Colts),Lovie Smith (Bears), Mike Tomlin (Steelers), and GMs Jerry Reese (Giants), Rod Graves (Cardinals). The NFL and NFLPA cannot stand for Limbaugh to hold a position of power in the greatest professional sport. Limbaugh doesn’t believe a good portion of the leagues employees are qualified, capable, or matter enough to respect their interests. Imagine how players would feel to play for an owner that feels you are inadequate mentally, and less of a person than he is simply because of the color of your skin or your gender. The very people who would be buying tickets, jerseys, hats and concessions are the very same people Limbaugh would be looking down his nose at from the owners suite in disgust.
In the last few years the owners, GMs, coaches, scouts and NFLPA have made drafting players of good character paramount. There also has been a big push to emphasize and reiterate to the veterans how much of a privilege playing in the NFL is and not to take it for granted. With this same logic the “powers that be” in the league must maintain the same standards for approval of potential owners of franchises.
The Y.E.T. program, United Way, hurricane/tornado relief projects are just a few of the many community programs the NFL is directly involved with that emphasize things like fair play, community service, education, remaining drug free, and equality. To his credit Limbaugh does raise money for a cure for Leukemia and Lymphoma so he is not just heartless. At the end of the day does he represent any of these qualities important to the NFL?
I am proud to be an NFL player and member of an exclusive fraternity of professional athletes. I want the league to continue to prosper and grow in the right direction. As quickly as the NFL has blossomed in the last 20 years, it can crumble just as fast. The NFL is very important to me that’s why I will not sit quietly and not let my voice be heard about something I love so much.
31 Comments
Completely agree! If the NFL allowed RUSH 2 be an owner, then they mind as well allow, Farrakhan in too!!
Completely agree! If the NFL allowed RUSH 2 be an owner, then they mind as well allow, Farrakhan in too!!
I'm not defending his comments, but I don't think Rush Limbaugh means most of what he says – he is a radio entertainer. That's all. He gets better ratings (=more money) the more controversial he is. In a sense, he's like a comedian that says inflammatory things because they're funny, but if you could talk to them in a serious "off-camera" moment, they would probably tell you "it was just a joke." For what it's worth, I'm a conservative voter – Limbaugh's target demographic – and I can't stand him either, mainly because he sells himself as a pundit, when he's just a comedian. He thinks he's on the opinion page, and he's really just on the funnies page.
Its amazing how many people try to give Rush a pass by saying "he doesn't really believe what he is saying". Like I have always been told, when someone reveals themself to you believe them. He hasn't been somehow making all this stuff up all these years. Whether the sychophants who listen to him want to try to provide him cover or not his kind of rhetoric is not and should not be welcome in the NFL.
The NFL is the ultimate team sport and I am proud to have played myself for 7 years and as anybody knows the quickest way to destroy a team is through division in the ranks. Well all Rush Limbaugh preaches day in and day out is division and its up to people like you George to keep on speaking out on this. I applaud your candor and keep up the good work!
Its amazing how many people try to give Rush a pass by saying "he doesn't really believe what he is saying". Like I have always been told, when someone reveals themself to you believe them. He hasn't been somehow making all this stuff up all these years. Whether the sychophants who listen to him want to try to provide him cover or not his kind of rhetoric is not and should not be welcome in the NFL.
The NFL is the ultimate team sport and I am proud to have played myself for 7 years and as anybody knows the quickest way to destroy a team is through division in the ranks. Well all Rush Limbaugh preaches day in and day out is division and its up to people like you George to keep on speaking out on this. I applaud your candor and keep up the good work!
Look on the bright side. Could he possibly be a worse owner than Al Davis or the Ford family?
Preach brother preach, glad to see the players are potentially looking to take a stand on this one. Nice.
-Ed.
Kyle, Limbaugh is a clear racist. His "jokes" are highly offensive and they carry no punch line. My question to you is did you find any of the above statements funny?? If so you need to do some soul searching and see why "jokes" suggesting I should be back on a plantation picking cotton or playing mame to Limbaugh's kids is funny to you. Have you ever thought that people with Limbaugh's ideas really still exist and maybe just maybe he does mean all the hateful things he says?? We can't give open racists a pass by calling the ignorant things they says "jokes."
I hope more players are reading this blog because if Limbaugh becomes an NFL Owner it will not only be a slap in the face for non-white players but it will be a slap in the face to all americans who believe in change!!
(If) Rush wanted to by the Giants I WOULD Never be a Giants fan again. The NFL should NOT want any part of Rush..
Uh, Tina? Those quotes came from HIS website, sugar.
TIna please repost your comment.
i thought i would make your research a little easier for you:
1)slavery comment: never said it!!! NEVER SAID IT and you will be hearing lots of apologies from people who have slandered Rush over this unsourced comment. Mike Wilbon has issued his apology as has CNN. you should go next.
2) 12% percent of the population: not talking about african americans. not talking about race at all. he was discussing UNION MEMBERS. i guess that's you, but, let's be clear. people of all races are union members.
3) bloods and crips: here is the link. read the whole page all the way to the bottom. i find it very strange that a racist can call ladanian tomlinson and marvin harrison the two classiest players in the league. weren't there any white players he could have chosen??
i hope you find this information useful and enlightening. one should not base an opinion of another on hearsay. there are lots of lies out in the world today. as for rush hating african americans or women, nothing could be further from the truth. tune in one day and you may find you have been mislead by the media or maybe you still won't like rush, but at least your opinion will be based on knowledge you gained first hand. i mean, seriously, did you learn to play football based on something you read in a book or did you experience it first hand?
i thought i would make your research a little easier for you:
1)slavery comment: never said it!!! NEVER SAID IT and you will be hearing lots of apologies from people who have slandered Rush over this unsourced comment. Mike Wilbon has issued his apology as has CNN. you should go next.
2) 12% percent of the population: not talking about african americans. not talking about race at all. he was discussing UNION MEMBERS. i guess that's you, but, let's be clear. people of all races are union members.
3) bloods and crips: here is the link. read the whole page all the way to the bottom. i find it very strange that a racist can call ladanian tomlinson and marvin harrison the two classiest players in the league. weren't there any white players he could have chosen??
i hope you find this information useful and enlightening. one should not base an opinion of another on hearsay. there are lots of lies out in the world today. as for rush hating african americans or women, nothing could be further from the truth. tune in one day and you may find you have been mislead by the media or maybe you still won't like rush, but at least your opinion will be based on knowledge you gained first hand. i mean, seriously, did you learn to play football based on something you read in a book or did you experience it first hand?
brownstocking – i'm sorry, but those quotes did not come from rush limbaugh's website.
Tina-
Guess what! If everyone calls you a racist, bigot, and sexist then you are probably all of the above! The quotes in my blog are not the only evidence of his beliefs!
Why would you assume I have never listened to Limbaugh? I have been one of his 13million listeners on multiple occasions.
Just because you say something nice about a couple black people does not mean you are not a racist. That's like saying you "Im not racist, I've had 3 black people over my house".
The 12% of the population quote was not about union workers.
If you do not see a problem with the entire quote of Rush comparing the NFL to Bloods and Crips the you have been brainwashed by the 3 time divorcee, college flunkout, drug addict.
I would and people who know me would classify me as conservative but if Limbaugh is the VOICE of conservatism then I "denounce and reject" conservatism.
Tina-
Guess what! If everyone calls you a racist, bigot, and sexist then you are probably all of the above! The quotes in my blog are not the only evidence of his beliefs!
Why would you assume I have never listened to Limbaugh? I have been one of his 13million listeners on multiple occasions.
Just because you say something nice about a couple black people does not mean you are not a racist. That's like saying you "Im not racist, I've had 3 black people over my house".
The 12% of the population quote was not about union workers.
If you do not see a problem with the entire quote of Rush comparing the NFL to Bloods and Crips the you have been brainwashed by the 3 time divorcee, college flunkout, drug addict.
I would and people who know me would classify me as conservative but if Limbaugh is the VOICE of conservatism then I "denounce and reject" conservatism.
If you've got more evidence, put it up because all you've got here are lies and quotes taken out of context. I like the way you think…. if everyone says it, it must be true. wow! hope that one doesn't come back to bite you in the ass. maybe i'll head over to wikipedia and make something up about you, let it spread all over the internet, and see if you can disprove it. that might be a hard thing for you to do. i mean, if everyone says it, it must be true. right?
Good luck to you, George. David is one of my favorite QB's. Glad to see him recover and back out on the field. Stay healthy!
If you've got more evidence, put it up because all you've got here are lies and quotes taken out of context. I like the way you think…. if everyone says it, it must be true. wow! hope that one doesn't come back to bite you in the ass. maybe i'll head over to wikipedia and make something up about you, let it spread all over the internet, and see if you can disprove it. that might be a hard thing for you to do. i mean, if everyone says it, it must be true. right?
Good luck to you, George. David is one of my favorite QB's. Glad to see him recover and back out on the field. Stay healthy!
Tina I got none of my quotes from Wikipedia!!! Im a natural skeptic. People make up things all day everyday so you have to take everything with a grain of salt until you get concrete evidence. My post is a combination of facts and my opinion. It just so happens most people agree with me. 🙂
if you want to know who is responsible for the slavery quote, do some research on Tom Metzger. He's a piece of trash with an internet radio show. The quote belongs to him along with the quote about James Earl Ray which has also been attributed to Rush. I guess some internet junkie thought it would be funny to attribute it to Rush – which he did on wikipedia in 2005. another genius comes along and picks up the quotes from wikipedia and puts them in a book in 2006. no source. wikipedia changes the citation for the quotes to the book. hmmmm…quotes with no origin. That's until this whole thing blew up and Metzger recognized his words. The thing is, Metzger is proud of his words. He won't deny them. So, you want a real racist. Here he is – Tom Metzger.
Most people you know may agree with you, but most people do not agree with you. And, most people would not agree with your attibuting fictitious quotes to anyone. But, you are certainly free to express your opinion and I applaud you for doing so. You seem like a very nice man. Have a great evening.
if you want to know who is responsible for the slavery quote, do some research on Tom Metzger. He's a piece of trash with an internet radio show. The quote belongs to him along with the quote about James Earl Ray which has also been attributed to Rush. I guess some internet junkie thought it would be funny to attribute it to Rush – which he did on wikipedia in 2005. another genius comes along and picks up the quotes from wikipedia and puts them in a book in 2006. no source. wikipedia changes the citation for the quotes to the book. hmmmm…quotes with no origin. That's until this whole thing blew up and Metzger recognized his words. The thing is, Metzger is proud of his words. He won't deny them. So, you want a real racist. Here he is – Tom Metzger.
Most people you know may agree with you, but most people do not agree with you. And, most people would not agree with your attibuting fictitious quotes to anyone. But, you are certainly free to express your opinion and I applaud you for doing so. You seem like a very nice man. Have a great evening.
I'm with you George! being a vietnam vet and having a distain for meely mouth radio wonders that seem to complicate our lives with worthless bias doesn't make squat on this earth..just another voice of someone that has been a has been with nothing to contribute to the good of society.
I often wonder where the world of entertainment is really going to take us.
I'm with you George! being a vietnam vet and having a distain for meely mouth radio wonders that seem to complicate our lives with worthless bias doesn't make squat on this earth..just another voice of someone that has been a has been with nothing to contribute to the good of society.
I often wonder where the world of entertainment is really going to take us.
Again, I say, I'm not defending anything Rush has said! I do not find him funny or entertaining in any way, and I'm not saying he isn't racist. My point is that as a controversial public figure, he needs to be controversial to remain a public figure. The best thing to do is to ignore him – when you get fired up about what he says, you're playing into his hand. He doesn't want to make you (or anybody) happy, he wants to make you mad – that's how he makes his money. If you don't think he's good for the NFL, speak out against him (and good for you, George, for doing so) but don't get caught up in his game of anger – that only helps him.
George,
Fellow Duck alum and long time Duck fan. Loved what you did for the Ducks and love following your successful NFL career. Your success has come from hard work, making mostly the right choices along with being very gifted. Rush has been successful by doing the exact same thing.
Whether he has been married and divorced one time or 10 times, finished college or not (how many guys in your union did that?), or had an issue with painkillers (how many guys in your union do that?) what does that have to do with someone buying a company or making an investment? By that assertion alone it seems your emotions are talking.
. "It just so happens that most people agree with me" – I know that is just your opinion. George, as a well educated man and a "natural skeptic", I would encourage you to do one thing before you make such harsh statements.
You live in Florida. So does Rush. You love the NFL and I'm sure Rush does as well. Contact him somehow. Offer him one of your comp tickets to a Jaguar game or play golf with him. You are in a position to make that happen. Meet him and get to know what he is about. If and when you do that, then I would be interested in what your opinion was. And it would be a great life experience for you. Maybe you come out of that feeling the exact same way. But then again, maybe you change your mind. Let us know.
Ryan Murphy
George,
Fellow Duck alum and long time Duck fan. Loved what you did for the Ducks and love following your successful NFL career. Your success has come from hard work, making mostly the right choices along with being very gifted. Rush has been successful by doing the exact same thing.
Whether he has been married and divorced one time or 10 times, finished college or not (how many guys in your union did that?), or had an issue with painkillers (how many guys in your union do that?) what does that have to do with someone buying a company or making an investment? By that assertion alone it seems your emotions are talking.
. "It just so happens that most people agree with me" – I know that is just your opinion. George, as a well educated man and a "natural skeptic", I would encourage you to do one thing before you make such harsh statements.
You live in Florida. So does Rush. You love the NFL and I'm sure Rush does as well. Contact him somehow. Offer him one of your comp tickets to a Jaguar game or play golf with him. You are in a position to make that happen. Meet him and get to know what he is about. If and when you do that, then I would be interested in what your opinion was. And it would be a great life experience for you. Maybe you come out of that feeling the exact same way. But then again, maybe you change your mind. Let us know.
Ryan Murphy
Vance201 & kyle…
Im very open to your suggestion. I will contact him and invite him to a round of golf in hopes to get a chance to understand him further first hand. However, you do not need to meet every person personally to know certain things about them. They tell you through their actions. I understand that he must remain controversial but there are certain issues that are spoken from the heart and not "toyed" with for ratings. I obviously do not know which it is… an act or his real views, but I know people view him as their voice so that means they agree with him and thats the problem if its an act.
The fact that he is divorced 3 times, a dropout and drug addict does bring his credibility and character as the voice of conservatism. I know people can change and you don't have to be a college graduate with a wife 2.5 kids and a picket fence to be credible but when you stay on your soapbox throwing stones all you have to make sure your house isn't made from glass.
Vance201 & kyle…
Im very open to your suggestion. I will contact him and invite him to a round of golf in hopes to get a chance to understand him further first hand. However, you do not need to meet every person personally to know certain things about them. They tell you through their actions. I understand that he must remain controversial but there are certain issues that are spoken from the heart and not "toyed" with for ratings. I obviously do not know which it is… an act or his real views, but I know people view him as their voice so that means they agree with him and thats the problem if its an act.
The fact that he is divorced 3 times, a dropout and drug addict does bring his credibility and character as the voice of conservatism. I know people can change and you don't have to be a college graduate with a wife 2.5 kids and a picket fence to be credible but when you stay on your soapbox throwing stones all you have to make sure your house isn't made from glass.
George,
Thanks. Let us know how that goes.
Also, remember Rush did not label himself the "Voice of Conservatism". He calls himself a conservative. You either have conservative views or not. And because Rush is a consertative should not make you change your views.
Just like I love watching NFL receivers like yourself, Reggie Wayne, Antonio Gates, Bernard Berrian etc. Guys like Chad Ochocinco and T.O. will not make me stop watching the NFL even though I don't like their act.
Good Luck!! and Go Ducks!
Ryan
George,
Thanks. Let us know how that goes.
Also, remember Rush did not label himself the "Voice of Conservatism". He calls himself a conservative. You either have conservative views or not. And because Rush is a consertative should not make you change your views.
Just like I love watching NFL receivers like yourself, Reggie Wayne, Antonio Gates, Bernard Berrian etc. Guys like Chad Ochocinco and T.O. will not make me stop watching the NFL even though I don't like their act.
Good Luck!! and Go Ducks!
Ryan
Hello, George.
i came back to your blog today because i wanted to encourage you to visit rushlimbaugh.com and listen to the clip today about the bloods and crips comment. you seem to be a very nice guy, and while i am not an oregon ducks fan (i'm an LSU alum and fan), i am a huge football fan, both college and professional. i absolutely love football. this whole controversy has upset me at a level i'm not sure i can explain. anyway, take a listen if you like.
Have a good evening and good luck on a great season. stay healthy!