{"id":8390,"date":"2014-09-15T19:08:51","date_gmt":"2014-09-15T19:08:51","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2014-09-15T19:08:51","modified_gmt":"2014-09-15T19:08:51","slug":"espn_nfl_countdown_no_social_commentary_allowed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2014\/09\/15\/espn_nfl_countdown_no_social_commentary_allowed\/","title":{"rendered":"ESPN NFL Countdown: No Social Commentary Allowed?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Listen<\/a><\/p>\n

RUSH: This is October 5th, 2003<\/a>. This is the Sunday after I resigned the ESPN pregame show. I don\u2019t want to waste time resetting the table on that. I said something the previous Sunday that nobody even reacted to until two days later on Tuesday, and it was local Philadelphia media that reacted to it. <\/p>\n

But the studio hosts, my cohosts on the Sunday morning pregame show the next Sunday, every damn one of them, “Rush promised he would never bring politics to our set, he did! (crying) Rush promised he would never bring cultural stuff, and Rush lied to us, and we should have never hired Rush!” That was the tack they all took. And Tommy Jackson, who would not take a phone call from me — I probably shouldn\u2019t get into this. Tommy Jackson had this to say. Now, I want you to measure what you hear in this sound bite from 2003 to the way ESPN is now<\/a> when you turn it on.<\/p>\n

JACKSON: Let me just say that it was not our decision to have Rush Limbaugh on this show. Rush told us that the social commentary for which he is so well known would not cross over to our show, and instead he would represent the viewpoint of the intelligent, passionate fan. Rush Limbaugh was not a fit for NFL Countdown.<\/p>\n

RUSH: None of that\u2019s true. I never promised anybody. I never talked to those guys when I was hired. I was hired by executives, Mark Shapiro being one, and I forget the other two names, but I never promised these guys anything. They were just scared to death because all kinds of negative attention was being attached now to the pregame show. “Rush lied to us. Rush was not a fit.” And when the incident happened, none of these guys thought a thing of it. Steve Young even agreed with me! It wasn\u2019t until everybody went nuts two days later. Anyway, I don\u2019t want to rehash that. Here\u2019s Keyshawn Johnson Sunday morning, NFL Countdown.<\/line><\/p>\n

JOHNSON: Being a kid at whatever age it was, seven years old, six years old, I didn\u2019t have any knowledge to know that it was wrong to abuse a kid with a switch, to the point at times where my parents would even ask me to go out and pick a branch off the tree of your choice, big, small, whatever the case may be, to use it. But if that didn\u2019t happen to me along the way, I wouldn\u2019t be here with you today. It taught me a lot of learning lessons. I have an 18 down to two, and I have a little four-year-old girl and a two-year-old son, and I never, ever have put my hands on them.<\/line><\/p>\n

RUSH: That is the Sunday morning pregame show on Sunday NFL Countdown where social commentary would never cross over to their show, and anybody who engaged in it was not a fit for NFL Countdown. And yet now look what\u2019s happened. Look at what all of these pregame shows have become. They\u2019ve all become political. Once again, folks, as has been the case, the pioneers — in this case, me — always take the arrows.<\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: We got a guy coming up on the phone that has a brilliant observation, really astute observation. This is Scott, Manhattan Beach, California. Great to have you on the program, sir. Hello.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Thank you, Rush. I was looking at the failure of left-wing talk radio and the failure of left-wing media, which includes MSNBC, CNN, and the New York Times. And what I\u2019ve discovered here is that left-wing media has taken over sports talk and sports talk radio.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Yeah, that\u2019s exactly right. I think you are on to something profound there.<\/p>\n

CALLER: And, unfortunately, the people that listen to it are kind of unaware.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Oh, they don\u2019t think it\u2019s politics. It\u2019s sports. You\u2019re exactly right. That\u2019s it in a nutshell. They don\u2019t think it\u2019s possible. It\u2019s like low-information don\u2019t think Democrats are politics. The Republicans are politics. They\u2019re the bad guys. They\u2019re the ones standing in the way of progress.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Right. And they\u2019ve got everything, they\u2019ve got it all covered: global warming, the anti-gun group, the gay BLT group. You got the women\u2019s rights, then race. And the next thing they\u2019re gonna be trying to get rid of is the petroleum-based plastic helmets, and the next thing that\u2019s gonna happen is they\u2019re gonna find out that there\u2019s a pigskin, and the pigskin is gonna be pig related and it\u2019s gonna be offensive to Muslims and they\u2019re gonna have to change the football, and it\u2019s all left-wing agenda. <\/p>\n

RUSH: Folks, he may be exaggerating a bit there to make a point, but Scott is on to the way this is playing out. See, the secret in this is that the sports talk audience thinks that they are, “I don\u2019t like talk radio. I don\u2019t like politics.” And they are hip deep in left-wing politics. And it\u2019s not just sports talk radio anymore. It\u2019s television. It\u2019s television sports. I\u2019ve been trying to tell people as long as I\u2019ve been aware of it that the sports Drive-Bys, if it\u2019s possible, are more liberal than their news Drive-By brothers and sisters. It is a stunning reality when you run up against some of them, when they\u2019re guests on CNN or when they\u2019re guests on MSNBC, it\u2019s stunning.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Didn\u2019t Keith Olbermann come directly from MSNBC and he\u2019s ended up on ESPN?<\/p>\n

RUSH: Well, he started at ESPN back when they weren\u2019t political, then he went to MSNBC, then Fox — I think Fox. Maybe not. He was at MSNBC twice. Current TV. But yeah, good example. But he\u2019s not by no means the only one.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Right. And it\u2019s even more dangerous in a sense because the people that come on there, because they\u2019re talking sports, they\u2019re free to meander in conversation and get their talking points in when you\u2019re not prepared for it. You know, you\u2019re talking about someone crossing the 50 yard line, before you know it it\u2019s global warming. And it\u2019s just sinking in little by little and they\u2019re getting all their points, because we\u2019re not talking politics, we\u2019re talking sports.<\/p>\n

RUSH: And culture and entertainment and celebrity and all the things pop culture are made from.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Exactly.<\/p>\n

RUSH: That\u2019s it. It\u2019s an excellent, excellent point. Folks, I could give you names of people, but it\u2019s the same old philosophy. I don\u2019t want to elevate \u2019em beyond where they are. But some of them are really so far gone on liberalism. One of the things that animates a lot of them is race. Some of these guys, slavery still exists, it\u2019s big, and everybody is a racist. Yeah, it\u2019s a good point. It\u2019s actually it\u2019s a great, great point. I\u2019m glad you called, Scott. Thank you so much. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RUSH: This is October 5th, 2003. This is the Sunday after I resigned the ESPN pregame show. I don\u2019t want to waste time resetting the table on that. I said something the previous Sunday that nobody even reacted to until two days later on Tuesday, and it was local Philadelphia media that reacted to it. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"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 NFL Countdown: No Social Commentary Allowed? - 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\/2014\/09\/15\/espn_nfl_countdown_no_social_commentary_allowed\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"ESPN NFL Countdown: No Social Commentary Allowed? - The Rush Limbaugh Show\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"RUSH: This is October 5th, 2003. This is the Sunday after I resigned the ESPN pregame show. I don\u2019t want to waste time resetting the table on that. I said something the previous Sunday that nobody even reacted to until two days later on Tuesday, and it was local Philadelphia media that reacted to it. […]\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/listentoit.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"GeorgePrayias\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/\",\"name\":\"The Rush Limbaugh Show\",\"description\":\"Excellence In Broadcasting\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2014\/09\/15\/espn_nfl_countdown_no_social_commentary_allowed\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/listentoit.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/listentoit.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2014\/09\/15\/espn_nfl_countdown_no_social_commentary_allowed\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2014\/09\/15\/espn_nfl_countdown_no_social_commentary_allowed\/\",\"name\":\"ESPN NFL Countdown: No Social Commentary Allowed? - The Rush Limbaugh Show\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2014\/09\/15\/espn_nfl_countdown_no_social_commentary_allowed\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-09-15T19:08:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-09-15T19:08:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9a33276eb9dc5b6d3f8218957f30e6b4\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2014\/09\/15\/espn_nfl_countdown_no_social_commentary_allowed\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2014\/09\/15\/espn_nfl_countdown_no_social_commentary_allowed\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2014\/09\/15\/espn_nfl_countdown_no_social_commentary_allowed\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"ESPN NFL Countdown: No Social Commentary Allowed?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9a33276eb9dc5b6d3f8218957f30e6b4\",\"name\":\"GeorgePrayias\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d290ab65e2eaca3719268528f83b85bf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d290ab65e2eaca3719268528f83b85bf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"GeorgePrayias\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/author\/GeorgePrayias\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"ESPN NFL Countdown: No Social Commentary Allowed? - The Rush Limbaugh Show","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2014\/09\/15\/espn_nfl_countdown_no_social_commentary_allowed\/","twitter_card":"summary","twitter_title":"ESPN NFL Countdown: No Social Commentary Allowed? - The Rush Limbaugh Show","twitter_description":"RUSH: This is October 5th, 2003. This is the Sunday after I resigned the ESPN pregame show. I don\u2019t want to waste time resetting the table on that. I said something the previous Sunday that nobody even reacted to until two days later on Tuesday, and it was local Philadelphia media that reacted to it. […]","twitter_image":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/listentoit.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"GeorgePrayias","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/","name":"The Rush Limbaugh Show","description":"Excellence In Broadcasting","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2014\/09\/15\/espn_nfl_countdown_no_social_commentary_allowed\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/listentoit.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/listentoit.jpg"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2014\/09\/15\/espn_nfl_countdown_no_social_commentary_allowed\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2014\/09\/15\/espn_nfl_countdown_no_social_commentary_allowed\/","name":"ESPN NFL Countdown: No Social Commentary Allowed? - The Rush Limbaugh Show","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2014\/09\/15\/espn_nfl_countdown_no_social_commentary_allowed\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2014-09-15T19:08:51+00:00","dateModified":"2014-09-15T19:08:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9a33276eb9dc5b6d3f8218957f30e6b4"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2014\/09\/15\/espn_nfl_countdown_no_social_commentary_allowed\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2014\/09\/15\/espn_nfl_countdown_no_social_commentary_allowed\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2014\/09\/15\/espn_nfl_countdown_no_social_commentary_allowed\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"ESPN NFL Countdown: No Social Commentary Allowed?"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9a33276eb9dc5b6d3f8218957f30e6b4","name":"GeorgePrayias","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d290ab65e2eaca3719268528f83b85bf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d290ab65e2eaca3719268528f83b85bf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"GeorgePrayias"},"url":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/author\/GeorgePrayias\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8390"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8390"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8390\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}