RUSH: You have got way too many things going here at one point, and you’re not following the points you make. Answer my question. Of course I’ve heard of Doug Williams and Dante Culpepper and all the other names you mentioned. What in the world does that have to do with this episode?
CALLER: I’ll tell you what it has to do with it. When you criticize Vinny Testaverde or Kurt Warner, do you mention they’re white quarterbacks? No. But you make a comment about McNabb being overrated – which I happen to agree with, that’s a valid point. But for you to say that the NFL has something invested in the liberal sports media, has something invested because he’s black, I think it completely diminishes the accomplishments of all these other black quarterbacks. We have truly gotten to the point in the NFL where being black and being a quarterback and being accomplished have nothing to do with each other, but you brought it up as if you were Bill Clinton out on a stump bringing up race. I’m telling you, Rush, I’m a fan of yours, but I think you’re absolutely all wet on this.
RUSH: Okay, let’s just take that. You think I’m all wet on this. So what? I’m all wet. In your mind, I’m all wet. I’m wrong. Whoopee-doo! You know, why not leave it at that? People who think I’m wrong, think I’m wrong. But it’s gone way beyond that.
CALLER: No, I’ll tell you why, you want to know why?
RUSH: No, I know why, and we don’t need to rehash that, but you bring up all these other names. I’m not going to compound this, but when you say that I act as though I’ve never heard of all these other (quarterbacks). You want me to tell you about an interview with Doug Williams following the Super Bowl performance, the great Super Bowl performance he had? Maybe it wasn’t Doug Williams. It was, there was some great, great black – I think it was a Redskins athlete but I’m not sure and the media interviewing him totally focused on his race and how well he had (played) and he just didn’t understand it, didn’t hear it, didn’t want to focus on it. The media was astounded! I wish I could remember the specifics of this.
It was either – it might have been Doug Williams after that great Super Bowl performance against the Denver Broncos out in San Diego, and the media was peppering him with questions: “What does this say that black quarterbacks?” “How long have you been a black quarterback?” was one of the questions in this interview. “How long have you been a black quarterback?” asked by the media, was one of these questions. Admittedly this is 1987, but the whole subject of the interview was: Doug Williams didn’t want to hear about the blackness of his being a quarterback, and the media was dumbfounded!
They couldn’t believe it, because the whole point was to establish himself as that because there was a social barrier that everybody was trying to overcome, and defeat – and this is no different than that. Regardless, it isn’t racist. It’s hardly even worth the tempest that has been made of it. The only reason it is, is because this is one of the subjects, the areas, you just don’t talk about. And it’s one of way too many that you’re just not supposed to talk about. They can talk about it. They can make all the references to the race of athletes and what it means to the community and what it means to the racial population, the black population of the country and how many kids look (up to them). They can do it all day long, but nobody else can.
I mean, I’m not the one that’s even introduced race in this if you want to know the truth. You can go back. You can read Philadelphia sports media last year, the year before, and you can see that guys have been writing about the great things that Donovan McNabb’s success means in a racial context. This is a very selective application of who can say what – and again, it’s not even about McNabb. It’s about the media. And, you know, it is simply that. It’s almost a knee-jerk reaction because a certain protected topic that’s not supposed to be broached has been, and so the programmed demanded response has kicked in, and it is absent any specificity. It is absent any direct reference to what I actually said. It focuses on who I supposedly am because of my political and ideological orientation, and then descends from there, pure and simple. It’s not even specifically about the comments that I made. If it were, then the cacophony of sound here would be much more silent. This is Tracy in Ellicott City, Maryland. Welcome to the EIB Network. Great to have you with us.
CALLER: Thank you, Rush. It’s a pleasure to speak with you.
RUSH: Thank you.
CALLER: I am a die-hard Philly fan. Grew up in Delaware and have followed the Eagles, you know, all my life, and I cannot agree with you more. I started saying this two years ago. Obviously, I disagree with your caller that was just on. I mean, you’re right. You’re not making it an issue. The press is making it an issue, and I’m just so glad that you had the guts to say it. I don’t consider myself a racist, but, you know, we expected so much from this team, and he has not produced. And I’m sure he’s a great guy. It’s nothing against him personally, but as a player…
RUSH: Wait a minute. But that’s not exactly what I said. The team has produced. They’ve gotten the championship game the last two years.
CALLER: Yeah, but…
RUSH: Last season McNabb got a broken ankle against the Arizona Cardinals and Koy Detmer and AJ Feely filled in and they didn’t miss a beat. They weren’t able to get there in the championship game each of the last two years. Well, my point – and let’s not forget this – my point Sunday on ESPN was that the defense of the Eagles I think deserves a lot of the credit for this team’s success. It’s a sports opinion! You know, for crying out loud, and I think it’s an accurate one, but it’s caused a hubbub here.
And for those of you, by the way, who are saying, “Rush, what were you thinking?” I thought about this the night before. I weighed it, I balanced it, but you know what I decided? Look, they brought me in to be who I am. This is what I think. It’s a sports issue. It’s a sports opinion. This is not by any stretch of the imagination the end of the world. None of this stuff is. And, you know, to start balancing and weighing what I say versus the political correctness requirements that are out there, I don’t do that here. You know, why should I do it anywhere else? Let the chips fall.
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