{"id":23319,"date":"2006-02-03T01:01:01","date_gmt":"2011-05-19T06:35:11","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2011-05-19T06:35:11","modified_gmt":"2011-05-19T06:35:11","slug":"espn_reporter_proves_rush_was_right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2006\/02\/03\/espn_reporter_proves_rush_was_right\/","title":{"rendered":"ESPN Reporter Proves Rush Was Right"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

RUSH: All right, my friends. It\u2019s Open Line Friday. It is Super Bowl weekend, and I\u2019m going to ask you to indulge me, because I want to bury this once and for all. Well, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s ever going to be buried, but I want to put another nail in the coffin nevertheless as we attempt to bury this, and this is about the controversy that will not be allowed to die; that is me, ESPN, black quarterbacks, and the media. McNabb came out and spoke earlier this week on ESPN about his problems with Terrell Owens, and this has spawned countless roundtable discussions on ESPN programs. Yesterday on one such program — it\u2019s called Around the Horn; it airs around five o\u2019clock Eastern Time — my point was finally established and proved and admitted to by a member of the media, although he doesn\u2019t know he did it, which is why I am going to share it with you. <\/line>Now, to set this up, we\u2019ve got to go back to September of 2003 when I was on ESPN\u2019s Sunday NFL Countdown show with Chris Berman, Steve Young, Michael Irvin and Tom Jackson, and this is the first of two segments that day that we had all decided to do on McNabb and the Eagles, because they were having a tough time in getting the season started in 2003. So Tom Jackson says, “I don\u2019t think that…” Now, listen to this. This is what was being discussed in 2003. “I don\u2019t think that benching McNabb is an option that they see right now. He\u2019s going to have to lose a lot of football games before they bench him. I\u2019d like to look again at that supporting cast. This guy, McNabb, is struggling. I\u2019d be amazed if they don\u2019t come out today and run the football with whoever they have, Correll Buckhalter, Duce Staley, run that football and give this guy a break at quarterback,” and Berman says, “Rush, you\u2019re up.”<\/line><\/p>\n

BEGIN AUDIO CLIP <\/line>RUSH: I\u2019ve been listening to all of you guys, actually, and I think the sum total of what you\u2019re all saying is that Donovan McNabb is regressing, he is going backwards — <\/line> TOM JACKSON: Mmm-hmm. (Nodding) <\/line>RUSH: — and my… I\u2019m sorry to say this, I don\u2019t think he\u2019s been that good from the get-go. I think what we\u2019ve had here is a little social concern on the NFL. I think the media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. They\u2019re interested in black coaches and black quarterbacks doing well.<\/line>TOM JACKSON: Mmm-hmm. (Nodding) <\/line>MICHAEL IRVIN: (Nodding) <\/line> <\/line> RUSH: I think there is a lot of hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn\u2019t really deserve. The defense carried this team, I think. <\/line>TOM JACKSON: But Rush — But Rush, somebody went to those championship games. <\/line>RUSH: Oh, they “went.” <\/line><\/p>\n

TOM JACKSON: Somebody went to those pro bowls. Somebody made those plays that I saw running down the field, doing it with his legs, doing it with his arm. He has been a very effective quarterback for this football team over the last two or three years ? <\/line>RUSH: Yeah, but you take ? <\/line>TOM JACKSON: — and they didn\u2019t have any more talent then than they do now. <\/line>RUSH: Oh yes they did: on defense. On defense, they did. <\/line>MICHAEL IRVIN: (Nodding) <\/line>TOM JACKSON: (Nodding) Oh, on defense they did. I\u2019m talking on the offense side of the ball. <\/line>RUSH: Well, that\u2019s what I\u2019m saying. I think he got a lot of credit for the defensive side of the ball winning games for this team. <\/line> <\/line>STEVE YOUNG: But I\u2019ll tell you what. I\u2019ll say it even more strongly, Tom. When they\u2019re winning, nobody makes more plays — <\/line>TOM JACKSON: Right. <\/line>STEVE YOUNG: — than Donnvan McNabb. That guy is really one of the best in the league at making plays, but making plays does not win championships. Running the offense does. So at some point — <\/line>TOM JACKSON: Gotta run the offense. <\/line><\/p>\n

STEVE YOUNG: — I think that Koy Detmer looks like a better option because he\u2019ll go in there, drop back, and throw the ball correctly. <\/line> CHRIS BERMAN: Isn\u2019t it odd that last year with the broken leg ? I know it was Arizona ? but the one game he was in the pocket he looked great.<\/line>STEVE YOUNG: He had to run that offense. <\/line>TOM JACKSON: So Rush, once you make that investment though ? once you make that investment in him, that\u2019s a done deal. <\/line>RUSH: I\u2019m saying it\u2019s a good investment. Don\u2019t misunderstand. I just don\u2019t think he\u2019s as good as everybody says he has been. <\/line>MICHAEL IRVIN: Rush has a point. <\/line>END AUDIO CLIP<\/line>RUSH: That\u2019s Michael Irvin in there saying, “Rush has a point.” Now, you heard Steve Young throw McNabb under the bus suggesting that Koy Detmer would be a better choice to “run the offense.” Let\u2019s go back to the thing that caused a firestorm that ended up hijacking the NFL season in 2003, because it\u2019s all anybody could talk about. I said, “I think the media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. I think we\u2019ve had just a little social concern in the NFL. We\u2019re interested in black coaches and black quarterbacks doing well. I think there\u2019s a little hope invested in McNabb. He got a lot of credit for the performance of the team that he didn\u2019t really deserve.” Bam! From that, folks, you would have thought the most stinging, irresponsible racist remark had ever been made since Jimmy “The Greek.” <\/line><\/p>\n

Well, let\u2019s jump forward from 2003 to yesterday on this ESPN show called Around the Horn. The host is Tony Reali. He\u2019s talking with ESPN.com\u2019s Michael Smith who interviewed McNabb on TV earlier this week, and Reali says, “You know, I don\u2019t understand why this had to be about race just at the mention of a white quarterback. Brett Favre is the gold standard of all NFL quarterbacks. Wasn\u2019t he just speaking of the best quarterback in the game, Michael Smith?” Listen to this and keep in mind what I said: “I think the media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. There\u2019s social concern in the NFL. We\u2019re interested in black coaches, black quarterbacks doing well, I think there\u2019s a little hope invested in McNabb, and the media has been propping him up.” Here\u2019s Michael Smith\u2019s answer.<\/line>SMITH: It\u2019s not that he was picking out Brett Favre, it\u2019s the fact that African-American quarterbacks need more support than criticism<\/emphasize><\/strong>. Donovan McNabb has enough criticism to deal with. He didn\u2019t need you picking out the gold standard of a white quarterback when everybody else is trying to take Donovan McNabb down as it is.<\/line>REALI: Well said, Michael.<\/line>RUSH: “Well said, Michael.” So what we just heard was Michael Smith say that it\u2019s the fact that African-American quarterbacks need more support than criticism. Well, thank you, Michael Smith, who I think still does — no, I think he used to write for the Boston Globe. Thank you Michael Smith. That\u2019s all I ever said, that there was a bias in favor of McNabb because they have a desire that black quarterbacks do well, so they\u2019re not going to be as stridently criticized, pure and simple — and it has now been admitted to, even though this reporter may not realize he did that, on the very network where the original observation by me — a brilliant one, by the way — was made. <\/line>BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/line>RUSH: You know what? What stands out, Mr. Snerdley, as you heard the ESPN segment involving me from September 2003? What stood out about that to you, that whole segment? When you listen to this? The fact is that nobody on that show responded to me in any way other than what I intended. We were discussing McNabb\u2019s talent. Nobody on that show said, “Hey, Rush, that\u2019s an uncalled for racial comment!” Nobody. Tom Jackson said, “Hey, wait a minute. You\u2019re saying he\u2019s not as good as everything thinks he is. Who scored all these touchdowns? Who ran all these plays? Who won all these pro bowls?” blah, blah, blah, blah, but not one reaction. Not one person on the show thought it was a racial comment, because it wasn\u2019t, and ESPN shows later that night and on Monday night never even talked about that segment. It wasn\u2019t until the Philadelphia print media blew it up on Tuesday that it skyrocketed and became what it was. It was an obvious campaign to… (interruption) I haven\u2019t read the print media in Philadelphia today. Snerdley wants to know how they\u2019re handling the latest round. Yesterday they were saying, “Quit griping, McNabb!” Stop playing the victim, was the theme yesterday. Quit griping. Stop playing the victim. Just go out and rebuild your reputation. <\/line>END TRANSCRIPT<\/line><\/p>\n

&lt;*ICON*>Video of Rush\u2019s Comments, Plus 55 Other Stories…<\/strong><\/line>(The Media\u2019s Obsession With Rush &amp; Donovan McNabb)<\/a><\/line><\/p>\n

*Note: Links to content outside RushLimbaugh.com usually become inactive over time.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RUSH: All right, my friends. It\u2019s Open Line Friday. It is Super Bowl weekend, and I\u2019m going to ask you to indulge me, because I want to bury this once and for all. Well, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s ever going to be buried, but I want to put another nail in the coffin nevertheless as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nESPN Reporter Proves Rush Was Right - The Rush Limbaugh Show<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2006\/02\/03\/espn_reporter_proves_rush_was_right\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"ESPN Reporter Proves Rush Was Right - The Rush Limbaugh Show\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"RUSH: All right, my friends. 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