Black NFL players: hell no, we wouldn’t play for Limbaugh
Why would any self-respecting black football player work for an NFL team owned by a man who has called NFL games “the Crips vs. Bloods without the guns?” Answer: they wouldn’t:
Now, the players themselves are piling on. Specifically, many African-American players have explicitly stated that they would never play for a team that Rush Limbaugh owns. “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,’” New York Giants defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka told the New York Daily News, adding, “I don’t want anything to do with a team that he has any part of.” Other black players expressed similar sentiments:
[New York Jets linebacker Bart] Scott says players remember what Limbaugh said [about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donavan McNabb], 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.”
BTW, Kiwanuka used to play for Rams’ defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, and says he loves the guy, but he would never play for a team Rush owned.
And there’s more:
… Mathias Kiwanuka, a Giants’ defensive end who recently said he will never play for the Rams if Limbaugh purchases the team.
“All I know is from the last comment I heard, he said in 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.”
And…
Donovan McNabb also spoke about the Limbaugh situation in a press conference this week, saying, “If he’s rewarded to buy [the Rams], congratulations to him. But I won’t be in St. Louis anytime soon.”
And more:
This deal where Rush and St. Louis Blues owner Dave Checketts might buy the Rams is still at the early-early stages – but already the Washington Post picks up some gripes from the huddle. Lineman Roman Oben says “If I were a free agent, it would be really hard for me to want to play for him.” Oben’s thinking of famous past Limbaugh quotes about sports and race such as this one – “The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well.” That one, spoken in regard to Eagles QB Donovan McNabb, flared up just as Rush was starting to do game-day commentary on television and it took some explaining. Some players might also not love this observation – “The NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips, without any weapons.” If the ownership group that includes Limbaugh and Checketts is ultimately successful in taking majority control of the NFL St. Louis Rams, they’d be dealing with Bonneville’s all-sports KXOS (101.1). It’s the sister of The Arch and the flagship of the division-doormat Rams.
And from a former player:
Rush Limbaugh would definitely hurt the St. Louis Rams if he bought the team. I can only judge what he says on the radio – but the way he talks makes me think he’s a racist. The NFL is a dominant black league and it’s tough to say that a guy who speaks his mind as much as he does with a locker room that’s 60% minority would get players’ respect. If I were a free agent it would be really hard for me to want to play for him. He’d have to show me that he’s a different person. The coach would also have to convince me that this was about football and not politics. All the players would remember what he said about Donovan McNabb – what got him fired from ESPN. It’s a crazy thing, but it’s hard to change what you said once you said it — hard to get guys to forget and trust again. Sometimes your words speak louder than what you’re trying to do.
By Keenan McCardell (former Cardinal player)
Of course, none of this will bother Rush, who would likely continue to insult black NFL players (and black people in general) even after he became an NFL owner — quite possibly the players on his own team, who would have to have a serious gut check about whether they felt comfortable working for such an organization. And we’re not just talking about the players — there’s also the management and coaching staff, which also includes minorities of various groups who have been, and would remain, Rush’s targets. I know I wouldn’t work for a team Limbaugh had any part of if I were them — it would be too much like working for David Duke — and I suspect the Rams would face some serious issues with the players’ union if they allow him to be a part of the Checketts bid.
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7 Responses to “Black NFL players: hell no, we wouldn’t play for Limbaugh”
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I’d be willing to bet that the vast majority (if not all) NFL owners and Rush share the same views on politics and black culture. Am I wrong?
If players thought about how their owners voted, which campaigns they donated to, and their opinions on race matters, they’d be just as outraged. But, since Limbaugh is a household name, they’re freaking out.
This certainly doesn’t make them look smarter, speaking out against it. They are only players.
I’d be willing to bet that you don’t know a single NFL team owner, and that you’re a typical dittohead who assumes that there are more of you than there really are. I happen to know a retired owner, and am currently working on a documentary about professional sports in Florida in the 1950s. What I’ve found in talking even to much older men involved in sports a very long time ago, when America was as segregated as Rush Limbaugh wants it to be, is that people involved in sport are by and large more tolerant, and know more people of other races than your average person. I’m wiling to bet that it doesn’t matter how team owners vote — very few if any of them are as virulently and clearly racist as your boss Rush Limbaugh is.
And by the way, “they’re just players?” What on earth does that mean? They’re just mindless drones who should shut up and accept the racist windbag as their new “boss?” That comment says more about you than it does about them.
I cannot believe that anyone thinks Limbaugh is racists. He just states facts. People are so stupid anymore to equate everything on race, so then, who is racist? The people making the comments. Black players historically do not make great quaterbacks, that doesn’t mean they are not out there it just means they don’t have the experience. JReid apparently you have dark skin and you are racist to make such comments. I think its just jealousy that Limbaugh earned his money and you do not have as much. That’s all you speak of is race, maybe you need to take a closer look. BTW, Jerry Jones is one of the only owners that is always up the teams butts, so what is the difference if he buys them anyway, just looking for an investment I am sure. Hmm. that would be too easy for you to come up with
Wow, Kelly Creep (aptly named, I have to say…) who knew someone would be dim enough to try and defend the demonstrably racist Rush Limbaugh by making a racist statement of their own (black people just don’t make good quarterbacks) … in 2009! My advice: evolve. It will be good for you.
Jay Z who can’t be more racist is part owner of the New Jersey Nets. Another partner of the NJ Nets is a Russian, Mikhail D. Prokhorov. We have chinese and japanese now also owning part of our teams and nary a voice was raised on any of these bids…so basically if you are a white conservative you can not buy a team – but if you are a black racist, a russian, a chinese or japanese it’s okay. Yeah, anything but a white conservative. Now who is the racist and the hypocrite????
The NFLPA Union has gotten involved and a letter has been written in opposition of Limbaugh. There are other bidders for the team including a black bidder, hopefully Racist Limbaugh will not be picked. LOL
http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/The_Trenches/entry/view/38530/nflpa_chief_demaurice_smith_opposes_limbaugh_bid_to_buy_rams
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