RUSH: So Tim Tebow is gone from the New York Jets. The New York media is ecstatic. Let me ask you a question. Two years ago Tim Tebow was the most popular, in a certain way. This is undeniable. Two years ago Tim Tebow was the most popular. I’m not saying he’s the best player, don’t anybody misunderstand. The most popular, the most intriguing player in the NFL. Two years later, poof, gone. Who was his agent? How in the world does something like this happen?

And now the New York media is all excited. The New York media is all excited because the first gay player of the NBA has come out. Hey, it’s a great day, folks. I mean, this really says great things about the United States of America. Do you understand what an enlightened, great country we now really are? Because an NBA player has come out gay, and it’s only a matter of time now before the NFL parades its first couple of gay players out there. The New York media is all excited that Tebow’s gone because now Tebow’s not gonna screw up the Jets locker room with all the Jesus talk.

In light of that, let’s go back and listen to commissioner Roger Goodell. This is last Thursday on ESPN radio in the morning talking about players coming out and stuff. “A couple different issues around the league right now. One that certainly has a lot of attention, several of your players have come out in support of gay marriage, lot of questions about what would happen if an NFL player were to come out as gay and the expectation perhaps that would happen soon.” Sorry, NFL, the NBA beat you. “Generally speaking, Mr. Commissioner, how do you feel about NFL players taking stands on potentially divisive political issues?” Remember, now, Tebow’s gone. Jets released him, April 15th he was waved bye-bye to. And the New York media is ecstatic, ’cause all that mumbo jumbo about Jesus is no longer gonna pollute the Jets locker room. And this is the commissioner on tolerance and acceptance in the NFL.

GOODELL: I respect and admire our players for what they don’t on the field, but also for what they do off the field. They’re leaders. They’re thoughtful. And they want to make a difference in their communities and they feel passionately about this subject. We, as the league, obviously embrace this also, would be incredibly supportive of this, and not just the point of tolerance but to the point of acceptance. I think you’re hearing that from our players, and I’m proud of them for that.

RUSH: So it’s just a matter of time now. The NBA player has come out, Jason Collins.
He’s 34 years old. He’s a center in the NBA. “I’m black. And I’m gay.” It’s happened. The NFL will not be far behind. By the way, speaking of this. Mr. Snerdley, for those of you who don’t know, the Official Program Observer here, Bo Snerdley, is black, African-American. He’s our Official Obama Criticizer. What is it that you say? Right, certified slave blood, certified to criticize, right. Slave blood, certified to criticize. So I just want to ask if you’ve heard of a term. Have you heard of the “black tax” in the NFL? I hadn’t either ’til just now. I’m gonna tell you what it is.

I’m reading a story here in USA Today by Jarrett Bell. “When a Pro Football Weekly scouting report on West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith surfaced recently, containing damning proclamations by analyst Nolan Nawrocki about the habits of the top-rated passer in the NFL draft, it made me shake my head. Here we go again. Two years ago, Cam Newton was slammed by Nawrocki for having a ‘fake smile’ and setting a bad example while carrying a sense of entitlement. Last year, in a Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel report, Robert Griffin III was knocked by unnamed scouts for how he ‘deals with people.'”

Anyway, the black tax is a black quarterback who does not get drafted in the first round. He gets drafted in the second round, meaning that there is so much discrimination in the NFL, they’re not gonna take a black quarterback in the first round and not gonna pay ’em first round money. It’s in USA Today. I’m looking at it right here.

“Now another African-American quarterback has some vicious stereotypes circulating about him that people who have gotten to know Smith insist couldn’t be farther from the truth. Never mind the 42 touchdown passes (against six interceptions) last season, behind a shaky offensive line. Forget that the kid, who completed 71.2% of his passes in 2012, is the type to be found studying film hours after throwing for six TDs, or that his coaches rave about his drive.

“Geno Smith, too, has to pay a black tax. Even in 2013, it’s apparent that conditions remain in this society where analysis and opinions are seemingly clouded by racial bias. It’s easy to slap a stereotypical label on a minority — from quarterbacks to the blue-collar men on the street — without the benefit of doubt. Hopefully, as a group, NFL decision-makers are beyond this. Regardless, it’s a shame that such garbage is put out there in the first place.”

So apparently there was some predraft scuttlebutt about Geno Smith that caused teams to delay choosing him to the second round, thereby costing him first round money and because he’s African-American, this is racism, discrimination, and thus the black tax. I know. RGIII, first round. I know. Cam Newton. But, see, I don’t get this guy’s point by pointing those two guys out, other than they both had somewhat negative comments stated about them prior to the draft. The same thing happened to Warren Sapp. Warren Sapp is now going into the Hall of Fame this year. He was a defensive tackle for the Tampa Bay Buccs, came out of the University of Miami and prior to the draft the word leaked that he liked his doobies, and it cost him some draft status. It turned out to be totally untrue. It turned out turned out to be totally made up.

People attach racism to this, but they forget the capitalist nature of competition. The thing is that just because a player’s black doesn’t mean he’s going to be immune from the same type of psychological ploys that scouts and everybody play on other teams to try to affect who gets drafted when. Anyway, we’re never gonna get past this, as long as — the assumption — well, I better be careful here, but as long as the left is gonna have people continually make race allegations, racist charges, we’re never gonna get past this. I remember with the election of Obama this stuff was supposed to end, and I would maintain to you that it has only gotten worse.

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RUSH: I mentioned an hour ago, the first NBA player, Jason Collins, Washington Wizards, has come out as gay. The White House is eager to weigh in on this. Daily press briefing, Jay Carney took a question. “NBA player Jason Collins announced today that he’s gay. Does the president have any response, any reaction to that announcement?”

CARNEY: I can certainly tell you that here at the White House we view that as another example of progress that has been made and the evolution that has been taking place in this country and commend him for his courage and support him in this effort and hope that his fans and his team support him going forward.

RUSH: There you have it. So it’s just wonderful. It’s a beautiful thing for the NBA. It’s a beautiful thing, progress, sign of the tremendous evolution that has been taking place in our country, courageous, and we’re very supportive here at the White House. It’s a big deal. And of course the NFL, which hoped to be first, now must come in second place. So the only thing they can do is announce multiple gay players when it’s their turn. Mark my words. That will happen.

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RUSH: Now, about this NBA player, Jason Collins that just came out, I just gotta mention a couple things. He’s 36. As athletes go, that’s just a couple years short of the wheelchair or the walker. He’s 36, that’s old for the NBA. It’s old for the NFL. It’s old for professional athletes. This is not me saying this. Reports on the guy are that he’s not a starter. He’s not that good. He’s a back bencher, if you will. So he’s 36, said by professional analysts not to be among the top tier of players. So now that Jason Collins has come out as gay, none of that’s gonna matter when he’s not given a contract when this one expires.

This is just the way I think. I’m sorry, folks, I apologize in advance. If Jason Collins is not picked up by another team when his current contract expires, will he take action, legal action against the NBA for discrimination? Before you say, “Come on, Rush, don’t be ridiculous.” I got this USA Today piece here talking about how Geno Smith, a quarterback drafted by the Jets, black quarterback, second round, paying a black tax, which I had never heard of until today. The black tax is being a black quarterback who should have been taken in the first round but wasn’t because theoretically, arguably, he’s black. This is what the media’s saying, Geno Smith.

If everything else is the same and if he’s white, he’d have been a first rounder. ‘Cause he was black, a second rounder, he missed out on first round money, therefore he’s paying a black tax. Well, that’s the next thing to come is the gay tax. That’s what I’m asking here about Jason Collins. Will there be a gay tax, as labeled by the media, if Jason Collins isn’t picked up by a team after this contract expiration? Well, hey, Chris Kluwe, who is the punter for the Minnesota Vikings is very active on the gay marriage front. Now, the NFL draft, the Vikings in the fifth round took a punter. Well, guess what. There’s already buzz — bzz bzz bzz bzz bzz bzz — that the Vikings took a punter in the fifth round because of Kluwe’s off the field activism.

It’s already being whispered. It’s not even being whispered. It’s being shouted. The Vikings don’t want that kind of distraction. Kluwe, gonna talk about gay marriage, fine, but not on our team. So this kind of stuff is already alleged. Brendon Ayanbadejo, linebacker, 36 years old again, Baltimore Ravens, went to the Supreme Court oral arguments on gay marriage, very big advocate for it along with Kluwe, released by the Ravens. He publicly said when he was released, “Probably because I’m so vocal for gay –” Then he took it back. So I’m just using experience guided by intelligence here in asking the question. If there’s already a black tax for black players not taken in the first round in the NFL draft, can there be a gay tax for aging NBA players not picked up when their contract expires? We won’t be long to find out.

I love this postracial America. I do, Snerdley. I love all of this. I love how we’re getting farther and farther away from looking at people on all this silly surface stuff. I like the fact that we’re just looking at people for who they are. I love the fact that an NBA player is known for how well he plays the game and his sexual orientation doesn’t matter. I love it. Oh, well. It sounded good.

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RUSH:This is Joanne in Birmingham Alabama. Great to have you on the program. Hi.

CALLER: Hi. You were just talking about the black tax on quarterbacks.

RUSH: Yes.

CALLER: And I just wanted to point out that E. J. Manuel from Florida State went overall number 16 and he’s a black quarterback.

RUSH: Yeah. But E. J. Manuel did not have first round pedigree like Geno Smith did. Geno Smith was said to be the best quarterback in the draft.

CALLER: Right.

RUSH: E. J. Manuel, that was kind of an odd pick by the Bills ’cause their new coach overlooked his college quarterback at Syracuse. Everybody thought he would pick his college quarterback from Syracuse. He didn’t because he and the coach and general manager got together and they liked E. J. Manuel from Florida State. But that’s just a little side issue. But nevertheless E. J. Manuel was a surprise pick.

CALLER: He was.

RUSH: The Bills had let everybody believe that they were not interested in him, and that was part and parcel of trying to get everybody else to think, “Well, if the Bills don’t want him, nobody –” and it worked.

CALLER: Right.

RUSH: Nobody took him and the Bills, he was available when the Bills picked, and there he went. But since he wasn’t expected to go there, Joanne, he can’t be said to be an exception to the black tax.

CALLER: Oh, I gotcha.

RUSH: Geno Smith was expected to go in the first round and didn’t.

CALLER: You only get taxed if you’re expected to be there.

RUSH: See, that’s a great point. That’s another illustration of the stupidity here. Nobody knew when anybody was gonna get picked. Nobody could possibly know when anybody was gonna get picked. So the media consensus was that if any quarterback went in the first round it would be Geno Smith. So simply because the media and the Mel Kiper’s of the world, whoever these analysts, said that Geno Smith, “Yeah, that’s the quarterback, if anybody goes first it will be Geno.” And he didn’t, must be racism, has to be racism ’cause we all said he’s a first round pick. But not according to one general manager was he.

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RUSH: Andrew, Boca Raton, Florida, welcome to the EIB Network. Hi.

CALLER: Hey, how are you, Rush, what’s going on?

RUSH: You tell me. You called.

CALLER: Well, I was talking to Snerdley about Jason Collins, the basketball player?

RUSH: Yeah.

CALLER: And this is a brilliant self-marketing ploy that he’s pulling off here. Now, you said yourself he’s a mediocre basketball player, said by all the pundits, and this would be his post-basketball career. I mean, just think about the endorsements that are waiting for him.

RUSH: Well, I think that’s all true. That’s another point in addition to the ones mentioned. By the way, just so everybody knows, it’s not me saying he’s mediocre. I don’t know. I never heard of him until today. I’m not immersed each day in the NBA. I read about it and he’s not reputed to be a good player by sports reporters. He’s also 36. His contract will be ending soon, gonna be expiring. That’s old in the NBA, not a good player, he may not get another contract. If he doesn’t, guess what? Nobody’s going to think it’s ’cause he can’t play or because he’s old. People are gonna think, a-ha, he came out and now the NBA doesn’t want him. Can you say lawsuit?

And then your example, endorsements. I find it fascinating. Like Alec Baldwin. Alec Baldwin beats up every photographer he sees. He beats up half of the reporters he runs into. We have that recorded phone call of the conversation of him being very crude and rude to his daughter. He’s known not to be a nice guy, just not a pleasant person, and yet companies left and right hire the guy to do their endorsements. He’s a commercial spokesman. And yet others who are genuinely nice people, who have no such reputations, can’t get in the door to be hired by certain companies to be spokesmen, ’cause they’re controversial, or some such. So the idea that Jason Collins could end up being a commercial spokesman, entirely plausible. Oh. I’m sorry. His contract is up. Jason Collins is a free agent as we speak. So that puts a different slant, different angle on this. The timing of the coming out.
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Here’s Dan, Terre Haute, Indiana. Welcome to the EIB Network. Hi.

CALLER: Mega dittos, Rush.

RUSH: Thank you.

CALLER: My question, let’s say player A comes out and says he’s gay, and he’s a quarterback, running back, something like that. Player B on the opposing team sacks him a few times over a season or in a game, is that gonna be considered a hate tackle? And will Obama come out and say, “My son’s not gonna play because there’s too much hate in football”?

RUSH: I have to tell you something. I haven’t even pondered this. You have a gay quarterback or a gay running back, and there’s a vicious penalty that requires the referees to throw a flag, will the people on TV in the sports media say, “I wonder if they hit the guy hard because he’s gay, I wonder if there’s payback? I wonder if that was a hate hit?” Given, Dan, that we’re talking about liberals in the media, that wouldn’t surprise me. I hadn’t even considered that. I can totally see that happening. I can see the allegation that a particularly egregious hit could be alleged to be a hate hit. And then, ladies and gentlemen, might we start hearing whispers, whispers, whispers of perhaps a bounty on gay players on certain teams? That kind of thing could be reported even if it wasn’t happening. If some reporter thinks it might happen, all he’s gotta do is raise the possibility. Are there bounties in the NFL against the gay players? I hadn’t even thought of that.