Limbaugh's comment lands him on the side

As soon as I saw Rush Limbaugh had been hired by ESPN to be on their Sunday NFL Countdown show, I turned to a friend and asked, "Why?" My friend replied with much the same surprise and added how it just gave Limbaugh another chance to assert his opinions on the general public.\nLimbaugh is one of those guys that most people either love or just cannot stand to listen to. I fall into the latter category. It's not because I necessarily have different views than him, more so because I just get so sick and tired of hearing him run his mouth. ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown had been one of the single best sport-devoted programs on television heading into the year, and I was afraid Limbaugh would find a way to bring it down.\nHe did, and it only took him four weeks on the set to do so. Two weekends ago, as the analysts on the show were discussing Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb and his early season struggles, Limbaugh made the mistaken comment I figured was just a matter of time away. He claimed that McNabb was overrated and only received the publicity he did because the media was overly promoting him in hopes of creating a big-time image for an African-American quarterback.\nFirst of all, McNabb is easily one of the top five quarterbacks in the NFL when he is healthy and on his game. Sure, he struggled in his first two games, but his supporting cast has been depleted this year (it was never very strong to begin with), and he did not receive any help from the defensive side of the ball as the Eagles defense has been tormented by injuries this season. McNabb led the Eagles to back-to-back NFC Championship games, and despite falling short of the Super Bowl, he has more than proved his talent.\nSecond, Limbaugh tried to claim that his statement was in no way meant to be racial and was only a jab at the media for trying to build a reputation for an overrated player. This is also incorrect, as McNabb has proved his ability on the field, and it is not as though the media has built up the reputation of another African-American quarterback. For Limbaugh's claim to even seem to be true, you would think it had happened on multiple occasions, but this is not the case.\nWhile the Sunday NFL Countdown crew members did strongly disagree with Limbaugh on the set, none of them denounced the racial effect of the comment, and some crew members were attacked greatly for not responding. This past weekend, Tom Jackson apologized to the African-American community for not responding immediately. However, in my opinion, I do not think anyone realized the impact of the statement when it was initially made.\nSome people claimed Limbaugh was doing what ESPN had hired him to do -- create controversy. Jackson claimed that Limbaugh said at the time of his hiring he was taking the job as a fan with an analyst perspective. I still say shame on ESPN for hiring such a loudmouth with no football analysis integrity, but the rest of the blame is Limbaugh's. ESPN received numerous complaints and suggestions that they should fire Limbaugh, which eventually led to Limbaugh rightfully stepping down from the position Wednesday night.\nWhile it may seem like a good idea to put a football fan in the studio or broadcast booth, this is the second time it has failed, as ABC let go of Dennis Miller after a season on Monday Night Football. Just let the sports analysts do their job, and sit back and be a fan. That's good enough, isn't it?