Hugh Hewitt writes:
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was asked Tuesday about the possibility of Rush Limbaugh acquiring a piece of the NFL’s St. Louis Rams, and responded:
“I’ve said many times before we’re all held to a high standard here, and I think divisive comments are not what the NFL is all about. I would not want to see those comments coming from people who are in a responsible position in the NFL, absolutely not.”
Goodell has not yet held up his hand and proclaimed that he is holding within it a list of conservative pundits who cannot be allowed to continue to attend NFL games, but check in next week. It is classic McCarthyism to use unspecified charges of political wrongdoing to blacklist an individual, and that’s what Goodell did yesterday.
It was also a very divisive statement, so by his own standard, I guess Goodell will be turning in his resignation.
Read the whole thing. The Radio Equalizer notes the double-standard at play:
After nearly two weeks of fabricated anti-Rush Limbaugh smears from the news media, what kind of scrutiny can be expected now that trashy pop tramp Fergie has also indicated an interest in bidding for a NFL team?
No, we’re not making this up.
At least from the league, we already have an answer: while Limbaugh is judged and potentially blocked based on fabricated, phantom “quotes” from his program, the outspoken left-wing Black Eyed Peas performer instantly passed with flying colors.
According to the AP late Tuesday evening, Fergie (real name: Stacy Ann Ferguson) has been pre-approved at a meeting of team owners before even placing a bid:
MIAMI — Fergie may soon be on the Miami Dolphins [team stats]’ bandwagon as a limited partner.
NFL owners meeting in Boston this week approved the Black Eyed Peas singer as a part owner, but the team has yet to complete an agreement with her, Dolphins chief executive officer Mike Dee said in an e-mail Tuesday.
Fergie and the Black Eyed Peas already have a marketing partnership with the Dolphins. She wears a pink Dolphins jersey in a campaign this month for breast cancer awareness.
[…]
Fergie, whose real name is Stacy Ann Ferguson, is a Grammy-winning singer and also an actress. Ross has said his celebrity partnerships stir excitement and reflect the vibrancy of South Florida, and he envisions the Dolphins as a glamour team.
Hey, why shouldn’t Fergie pass the NFL’s political litmus test? As an outspoken Obama supporter who appeared at his nomination acceptance speech in Denver last year, she’s got the credentials they’re looking for (even if parents are horrified). She also visited with the man whose oratory skills she finds “amazing” at the White House earlier this year.
Never mind the fact that she sings about “her humps” or chats about wild sex and drug sprees in her past, it’s about the integrity of the game, right? Of course, it’s Fergalicious!
So what happens when a figure associated with maximum controversy joins the NFL? Pretty much nothing, once the initial storm blows over, admits liberal sports writer Michael Silver: “Fuss over Vick much ado about nothing”:
It has been exactly two months since Michael Vick signed with the Eagles, creating a stir that shook the boredom out of the preseason. Breathlessly, we all pondered what would happen next.
Would Vick, in a Wildcat-type role, emerge as a potent weapon in an already prolific offense? Would he push Donovan McNabb(notes) and, if the veteran were to struggle, supplant him as the Eagles’ franchise quarterback? Would animal-rights activists turn Sundays at Lincoln Financial Field into a made-for-CNN circus?
We now know the answer to all of these questions was a resounding, “No,” and I’m wondering how this notorious and polarizing player turned out to be such an afterthought.
Something to keep in mind regarding how much “controversy” Rush would bring to the NFL.
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