House Rep. says keep Limbaugh out of NFL
Sheila Jackson Lee image from Wikimedia. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SheilaJacksonlee.jpg
When I wrote earlier about the possibility of Rush Limbaugh buying the St. Louis Rams, I kind of thought that whole process had been snuffed out already. Apparently I was mistaken, as yesterday Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) in a floor speech said the NFL should not accept a bid from Rush Limbaugh to buy the team.
Several people already have voiced their opinions that they were opposed to Rush Limbaugh owning an NFL team, including NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Last week, the commissioner suggested he would not accept a bid from Limbaugh when he said “we’re all held to a high standard here, and I think divisive comments are not what the NFL is all about.”
Sheila Jackson Lee is not alone
It looks like no amount of instant money will convince certain people within the NFL to vote in favor of Rush Limbaugh’s bid, which hasn’t officially been made yet. At this point, Limbaugh has simply expressed interest. Colts owner Jim Irsay has already made it clear to the public that he would not vote in favor of Rush Limbaugh owning the Rams. Several players on the team have also said they wouldn’t want to be on the team anymore if he owned it.
In fact, The Hill reports that the entire “NFL Players Association … has expressed major concerns about Limbaugh’s bid.” Outside the NFL, The Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have both urged the NFL to vote down any bid Limbaugh makes. However, it appears Limbaugh has not given up on the idea that he could buy the team, as he talked about Sheila Jackson Lee’s comments on his radio show today.
One vote for Rush Limbaugh
Sheila Jackson Lee is not the only politician who has voiced an opinion about the idea of Rush Limbaugh purchasing an NFL team. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), who joins Sheila Jackson Lee as a memeber of the Congressional Black Caucus, said he would have no problem with Limbaugh owning the Rams. He even said he thinks Limbaugh could help the team.
Limbaugh used to work as a commentator for ESPN on its NFL pregame show. However, he resigned after saying — on the air — that he thought Donovan McNabb was getting more attention than he deserved. He attributed this attention to the fact that Americans “wanted to see a black quarterback do well.”
Grassroots movement opposes Limbaugh’s racist quotes
An online campaign to get people to sign a petition urging the NFL to reject any offer from Rush Limbaugh. The campaign, housed at RushIsARacist.com, has compiled video of Rush Limbaugh racist quotes.
Considering that the NFL commissioner has already implied that he would reject Limbaugh’s offer, all of this campaigning — by grassroots movements, famous reverends and Sheila Jackson Lee — might be unnecessary. But nowadays it seems people will jump on any excuse to get riled up about racism.
