Limbaugh Dropped from Rams Bid

(CBS/AP)  Conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh has been dropped from a group seeking to buy the St. Louis Rams.

Limbaugh was to be a limited partner in a bid led by St. Louis Blues chairman Dave Checketts, but Checketts said in a statement Wednesday that Limbaugh's participation had complicated the effort. The group will move forward without him.

Checketts said he will have no further comment on the bid process. Limbaugh did not immediately respond to an e-mail sent late Wednesday seeking comment on Checketts' decision.

Limbaugh said on his radio show earlier Wednesday that he had been inundated with e-mails from listeners who supported him in the bid.

"This is not about the NFL, it's not about the St. Louis Rams, it's not about me," Limbaugh said. "This is about the ongoing effort by the left in this country, wherever you find them, in the media, the Democrat Party, or wherever, to destroy conservatism, to prevent the mainstreaming of anyone who is prominent as a conservative.

"Therefore, this is about the future of the United States of America and what kind of country we're going to have."

Limbaugh's bid ran into opposition from within the image-conscious NFL on Tuesday when Colts owner Jim Irsay said he would vote against the radio personality. Commissioner Roger Goodell said the commentator's "divisive" comments would not be tolerated from any NFL insider.

The league tries to avoid getting snared in controversial issues outside sports, which has caused Limbaugh trouble in the past. In 2003, he was forced to resign from ESPN's Sunday night football broadcast after saying of Philadelphia's Donovan McNabb: "I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well."

The Rams had no comment, reissuing a statement from Oct. 5 in which owner Chip Rosenbloom said a review of the team's ownership was under way and the club will make an announcement when it's over.

Checketts, the chairman of SCP Worldwide, announced that Limbaugh had been dumped toward the end of a news release.

"It has become clear that his involvement in our group has become a complication and a distraction to our intentions; endangering our bid to keep the team in St. Louis," Checketts said. "As such, we have decided to move forward without him and hope it will eventually lead us to a successful conclusion."

The move was hailed by the Rev. Al Sharpton, one of the most vocal critics of Limbaugh's bid.

"It is a moral victory for all Americans — especially the players that have been unfairly castigated by Rush Limbaugh," Sharpton said in a statement. "This decision will also uphold the unifying standards of major sports."

Sharpton added in a telephone interview that major sports leagues shouldn't welcome owners who are "divisive and incendiary."

Every major pro sports franchise has dealings with its community, he said. "It's unfair for taxpayers to be underwriting people who denigrate them," he said.

Checketts said Limbaugh would have not had any say in the direction of the franchise "or in any decisions regarding personnel or operations."

Before getting dropped, Limbaugh said he had no intention of backing out.

"I'm not even thinking of caving," he said. "I am not a caver. Pioneers take the arrows. We are pioneers. It's a sad thing that our country, over 200 years old now, needs pioneers all over again, but we do."

[velma179]

Geee Whiz...

I read through some of these comments and it amazes me so many folks didn't get the FACT that it wasn't a political decision that the group bidding to buy the SL Rams made.

These are businessmen. It was a purely business decision.

These hard core CAPITALISTS were not concerned about the "left" wing or the "right" wing of political ideology -- they only care about the BOTTOM LINE. Could the attention this situation has garnered affect the MONEY we make?

They have every right to jettison a limited partner for any reason they choose.

This is how a free market works.

If you are going to celebrate Private Enterprise, you need to do it, even when your heroes are the ones who lose out.

****

There will be no lawsuits for slander. It doesn't apply to the action taken by the Checketts consortium.

If Mr. Limbaugh chooses to initiate some sort of legal action for comments made by observers, he would open a door I am certain he would not want to walk through himself.

I think he is too clever to do that.

[bobnjersey]

[These hard core CAPITALISTS were not concerned about the "left" wing or the "right" wing of political ideology -- they only care about the BOTTOM LINE. Could the attention this situation has garnered affect the MONEY we make? ]

really? why do suppose the money might be affected ... because his name is rush ... or because he wears size 11 shoes?

the money will be affected because he offends people w/ his idiotic and delusional rants .. rants that are firmly planted in an ideaological foundation ... a foundation that also happens to be the basis of a 'right thinking' world view.

it has everything to do with political idealogy ... becasue he's positioned himself, his identity, and his whole existance on an ideology ... and a failed one at that.

[baileyccc]

Dumbo the most hated man in America needs to the way of the GOP, he needs to disappear. Posted by baileyccc

[noloyalisti]

This racist, wacko is the official voice of the corporate white party of death and spending.

[missme4]

Limbaugh should just go buy a pharmacy.

[Dont_Tread_on_me]

I suspect you don't know that his producer is African-American. If you would have listened to Friday's program you would have heard Bo Sneardly's response to the fabricated statements attributed to Rush.

[rob00024]

Conservatives are such wussies. Why don't you little boys man-up? You can't hack the fact that over 80% of the country does not like Rush Limbaugh and never will. Always whining about conspiracies when you don't get your way. You remind me of a spoiled 5 year old girl. All I can say is I'm glad the overwhelming majority of the USA disagrees with you. It's my USA, the way I want it, the way I like it, and there isn't anything that you little conservative wimps can do about it. HAHAHAHAHA!

[SouthFLResident]

Actually, I'm certain that it was deep concern for Mr. Limbaugh that caused the NFL to reject him as a potential owner. They probably feel that his whole attention should be directed towards recovery from his deeply troubling, heavy, long-term drug addictions which appear to have severely affected his ability to reason, think clearly, speak intelligently and act humanely, for many years now. This is obviously a tremendous undertaking that will require all of Mr. Limbaugh's resources and a very very very very looooonnnnggggg time to accomplish. Best wishes on your recovery Rush!

[busybeela]

From Caleb Howe on http://www.redstate.com:

THE TOTALLY REAL AND NOT FAKE QUOTES SHENANIGANZA TOP TEN
10. Democrat Fritz Hollings of South Carolina thinks being from Africa makes you a cannibal: ?You?d find these potentates from down in Africa, you know, rather than eating each other, they?d just come up and get a good square meal in Geneva.?

9. Howard Dean(former DNC Chair) reaches out: ?I still want to be the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks.?

8. California Democrat Diane Watson thinks interracial marriage is icky: ?He?s married to a white woman. He wants to be white. He wants a colorless society. He has no ethnic pride. He doesn?t want to be black.?

7. Howard Dean thinks service positions are for minorities, not big fancy white people: ?You think the Republican National Committee could get this many people of color in a single room? ? Only if they had the hotel staff in here.?

6. Joe Biden explains why southern Democrats should vote for him: ?My state was a slave state.?

5. ?Conscience of the Senate? and former Klansman Robert Byrd on equal opportunity: ?I?ve seen a lot of white n*ggers in my time.

4. Hillary Clinton does an impression (complete with accent) of an African-American man who didn?t know what Emily?s List was: ?She?s supportin? all these people. She?s supportin? Sen. Dianne Feinstein . She?s supported Sen. Barbara Boxer . . . She supported everybody. Why won?t she support me??

3. Democratic Mayor of New Orleans Ray Nagin denies that white people might live in New Orleans: ?I don?t care what people are saying Uptown or wherever they are. This city will be chocolate at the end of the day.??

2. Democrat Steny Hoyer reviews Michael Steele?s career: ?[He has] a career of slavishly supporting the Republican Party.?

1. Then Senator Joe Biden fills us in on who works at convenience stores: ?You cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin? Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent ? I?m not joking.?

Don?t look at me that way. I told you they were really real. Did you think I was joking? Well I wasn?t.

Every single one of those quotes is a real, legitimate, well-sourced quote. Totally real; not fake.

[beeker252]

As for #3, it is true that Nagin said that but at the end of the day, he had to fess up and retract that statement.
For #1, Biden is known to make gaffe statements that is off the wall because he did not have a prepared statement in front of him.
Typical of all politicians we have in our government. I might add Sanford and Palin on the list as well because they also rambled on that did not make sense at all.. Two way street for both sides.

[WellHungArtist]

And STILL the Democrats are much, much better than the Republicans on race relations (and just about everything else for that matter).!!!!!

[hlesliejr]

Rush has every right to seek ownership of a NFL team. Likewise, players, coaches, and owners have every right to object or express their concerns of letting him become minority owner of a team. In the end, it?s the owners who decide whether or not to allow a new owner in the league. The NFL?s brand would be at risk by letting this polarizing person the possibility of owning a team. It just doesn?t make any business sense. This is just my opinion, Rush has a right to say what he believes in (but does he really believe what he says?). Why in the world would Rush want to become minority owner of a team that participates in a socialist league such as the NFL (revenue sharing)? Isn?t this distribution of wealth? Isn?t Rush ideologically opposed to this? Could Rush be a person that says one thing, but does another? Please WAKE UP!!! This man is a FRAUD!!!

[busybeela]

Using liberal logic, if racist remarks can bar you from an ownership in the NFL, what about the White House? After all, Obama has been recorded on tape, saying "White folks greed, runs a world in need." He called a racist, anti-semite his mentor. Does it work both ways? I doubt it.

[skeetchamp]

the NFL enjoys a federal antitrust exemption and thus is a government sanctioned enterprise, and not a truly private company, so the public has the right to weigh in on who benefits from this government handout.

[busybeela]

Someone, I can't remember whom, made a great point on one of the news shows. If Rush is such a racist, then why did they have to make up false quotes and attribute them to Rush. He's been on the radio three hours a day, five days a week, for twenty years. I'm sure if he were really a racist, they wouldn't have had to make anything up. And yes I saw the ridiculous post, with the quotes from his show that supposedly make some point about his racism. Taken in context, NOT ONE is racist. Limbaugh sure knows how to tweak the idiots on the left.