A Rush to Judgement: Limbaugh and the NFL Players Union

As soon as news broke that Rush Limbaugh was mentioned as part of one of the groups interested in purchasing the St. Louis Rams I knew it was only a matter of time before someone in a position of influence lost their tongue and came out against it on grounds unrelated to NFL ownership. The grounds upon which ownership of a pro-sports franchise should be determined is whether or not they can pay the bills the team already owes and whether or not the owners can and will make the investments necessary to improve the team’s financial situation and nothing more.  But that’s not good enough for the man whose tongue could no longer remain calm, NFL Players executive director DeMaurice Smith.

On Saturday, Smith sent an email to the union’s executive committee attacking Limbaugh on the grounds that he doesn’t bring people together enough to successfully join the NFL family.  Smith wrote:

I understand that this ownership consideration is in the early stages. But sport in America is at its best when it unifies, gives all of us reason to cheer, and when it transcends. Our sport does exactly that when it overcomes division and rejects discrimination and hatred.

In reading Smith’s email you would think NFL some random island of harmony and peace.  If you’ve read a sports section in the last few decades you’d know Utopia on the gridiron is as elusive as anywhere else, except perhaps Hollywood’s fictional Cuba.

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