As I explained on my radio show, this spectacle is bigger than I am on several levels. There is a contempt in the news business, including the sportswriter community, for conservatives that reflects the blind hatred espoused by Messrs. Sharpton and Jackson. “Racism” is too often their sledgehammer. And it is being used to try to keep citizens who don’t share the left’s agenda from participating in the full array of opportunities this nation otherwise affords each of us. It was on display many years ago in an effort to smear Clarence Thomas with racist stereotypes and keep him off the Supreme Court. More recently, it was employed against patriotic citizens who attended town-hall meetings and tea-party protests.

These intimidation tactics are working and spreading, and they are a cancer on our society.

On the issue of his comments about crips and bloods, Rush wasn’t tough enough. He was speaking of Crips and Bloods in metaphorical terms because of the way thuggery was affecting the NFL (see here or his transcripts below for context of his comment) but as you see here from this July LA Times story, REAL thuggery is the concern of the NFL. It seems to me that they owe Limbaugh an apology, or else—this story is not really a concern?????

From the LA TIMES here

Hand signals captured on videotape are once again being scrutinized around the NFL. Only this time, it’s not the New England Patriots studying them for a competitive advantage, but league officials in search of a more sinister message.

The NFL, concerned that some players might celebrate by flashing the hand signals of street gangs, has hired experts to examine game tapes and identify the gestures.

“There have been some suspected things we’ve seen,” said Milt Ahlerich, the league’s vice president of security. “When we see it, we quietly jump on it immediately, directly with the team and the player or employee involved to cease and desist. Period.”

Ahlerich says the league has long warned its players about the influence of gangs and other forms of organized crime, but that those admonishments have intensified since the 2007 killing of Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams, who was gunned down after an altercation involving known gang members.

The issue of athletes flashing signs gained national attention in April when Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics was fined $25,000 by the NBA for making “menacing gestures” as he walked toward the Atlanta Hawks’ bench during a game.

While acknowledging that he wasn’t “into the etymology of gestures,” NBA Commissioner David Stern took immediate action after league officials examined video of the incident.

“And our decision is that there were two menacing gestures,” Stern said at the time.

“RUSH: Here is Lance, El Paso, Texas, you’re up first today on Open Line Friday. Great to have you with us, sir.

CALLER: Mr. Limbaugh, how are you?

RUSH: Just fine, sir.

CALLER: I’ve listened to you since September 11th, and I find that I almost always agree with you. I’d say I only disagree with you about 1.5% of the time coincidentally enough. But the reason I’m calling today, sir, is I wanted to get your thoughts regarding what LaDainian Tomlinson had to say about Bill Belichick this past week.

RUSH: Okay, I’m going to take your call, I’m going to use this to expand the answer to incorporate all of the National Football League if you don’t mind.

CALLER: Not at all.

RUSH: To set the table for people who do not know, after the Chargers and Patriots game, the Chargers sitting around moping, all depressed, because they had the game won, it was just all kinds of stupid mistakes, and let me tell you what happened. Some of the Patriots went to midfield where the Chargers logo is and started doing an imitation of a victory dance done by Chargers player Shawne Merriman after he sacks a quarterback. Now, here are the Chargers who have lost a game they should have won, who lost a game precisely because of the same kind of behavior they’re ripping the Patriots for, and LaDainian Tomlinson says that was classless, (paraphrasing) “We went in there, we beat them twice on their field and we didn’t disrespect them. This obviously comes from the head coach,” meaning Belichick. LaDainian Tomlinson was accusing Belichick of ordering his players and creating a culture that would make it okay for players to go on the field and taunt and so forth and so on.

Now, LaDainian Tomlinson to me is the classiest player in the National Football League. He doesn’t do a dance, he doesn’t spike the ball when he scores. He and Marvin Harrison are the two most classy individuals playing in the National Football League today, in skill positions. They just hand the ball back to the referee. They act like they’ve been there and done that, like scoring a touchdown is no big deal, they don’t taunt, they don’t act like they’ve been dissed or any of this. Let me tell you, the Chargers would not have lost that game were it not for a bunch of — I gotta be very careful here. It’s not just irresponsible, but there is a cultural problem in the NFL that has resulted in a total lack of class on the part of professional players.

There was a play where Brady was third and long, he was sacked, fumbled the ball, the Patriots recovered it, it will be fourth and long, forcing an interesting decision late in the game by the Patriots. After the play is over, a Chargers player gets in the face of a Patriots player, head butts him and starts jawing. This is the reason these guys are getting shot in bars, folks, late at night. Fifteen-yard penalty, automatic first down. So for the Chargers to complain about the lack of class by the Patriots, I found laughable. I think something ought to be done about it, because I love the game of football, and I don’t like the kind of culture that’s taking over, that “you can’t diss me, you can’t disrespect me.” After every sack, players are acting like they’ve won the Super Bowl, and they’re prancing around with these idiotic dances. The latest thing is to act like they’re making a jump shot in basketball. It’s all done to taunt; it’s all done to taunt the other team’s fans.

As I explained on my radio show, this spectacle is bigger than I am on several levels. There is a contempt in the news business, including the sportswriter community, for conservatives that reflects the blind hatred espoused by Messrs. Sharpton and Jackson. “Racism” is too often their sledgehammer. And it is being used to try to keep citizens who don’t share the left’s agenda from participating in the full array of opportunities this nation otherwise affords each of us. It was on display many years ago in an effort to smear Clarence Thomas with racist stereotypes and keep him off the Supreme Court. More recently, it was employed against patriotic citizens who attended town-hall meetings and tea-party protests.

These intimidation tactics are working and spreading, and they are a cancer on our society.

On the issue of his comments about crips and bloods, Rush wasn’t tough enough. He was speaking of Crips and Bloods in metaphorical terms because of the way thuggery was affecting the NFL (see here or his transcripts below for context of his comment) but as you see here from this July LA Times story, REAL thuggery is the concern of the NFL. It seems to me that they owe Limbaugh an apology, or else—this story is not really a concern?????

From the LA TIMES here

Hand signals captured on videotape are once again being scrutinized around the NFL. Only this time, it’s not the New England Patriots studying them for a competitive advantage, but league officials in search of a more sinister message.

The NFL, concerned that some players might celebrate by flashing the hand signals of street gangs, has hired experts to examine game tapes and identify the gestures.

“There have been some suspected things we’ve seen,” said Milt Ahlerich, the league’s vice president of security. “When we see it, we quietly jump on it immediately, directly with the team and the player or employee involved to cease and desist. Period.”

Ahlerich says the league has long warned its players about the influence of gangs and other forms of organized crime, but that those admonishments have intensified since the 2007 killing of Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams, who was gunned down after an altercation involving known gang members.

The issue of athletes flashing signs gained national attention in April when Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics was fined $25,000 by the NBA for making “menacing gestures” as he walked toward the Atlanta Hawks’ bench during a game.

While acknowledging that he wasn’t “into the etymology of gestures,” NBA Commissioner David Stern took immediate action after league officials examined video of the incident.

“And our decision is that there were two menacing gestures,” Stern said at the time.

“RUSH: Here is Lance, El Paso, Texas, you’re up first today on Open Line Friday. Great to have you with us, sir.

CALLER: Mr. Limbaugh, how are you?

RUSH: Just fine, sir.

CALLER: I’ve listened to you since September 11th, and I find that I almost always agree with you. I’d say I only disagree with you about 1.5% of the time coincidentally enough. But the reason I’m calling today, sir, is I wanted to get your thoughts regarding what LaDainian Tomlinson had to say about Bill Belichick this past week.

RUSH: Okay, I’m going to take your call, I’m going to use this to expand the answer to incorporate all of the National Football League if you don’t mind.

CALLER: Not at all.

RUSH: To set the table for people who do not know, after the Chargers and Patriots game, the Chargers sitting around moping, all depressed, because they had the game won, it was just all kinds of stupid mistakes, and let me tell you what happened. Some of the Patriots went to midfield where the Chargers logo is and started doing an imitation of a victory dance done by Chargers player Shawne Merriman after he sacks a quarterback. Now, here are the Chargers who have lost a game they should have won, who lost a game precisely because of the same kind of behavior they’re ripping the Patriots for, and LaDainian Tomlinson says that was classless, (paraphrasing) “We went in there, we beat them twice on their field and we didn’t disrespect them. This obviously comes from the head coach,” meaning Belichick. LaDainian Tomlinson was accusing Belichick of ordering his players and creating a culture that would make it okay for players to go on the field and taunt and so forth and so on.

Now, LaDainian Tomlinson to me is the classiest player in the National Football League. He doesn’t do a dance, he doesn’t spike the ball when he scores. He and Marvin Harrison are the two most classy individuals playing in the National Football League today, in skill positions. They just hand the ball back to the referee. They act like they’ve been there and done that, like scoring a touchdown is no big deal, they don’t taunt, they don’t act like they’ve been dissed or any of this. Let me tell you, the Chargers would not have lost that game were it not for a bunch of — I gotta be very careful here. It’s not just irresponsible, but there is a cultural problem in the NFL that has resulted in a total lack of class on the part of professional players.

There was a play where Brady was third and long, he was sacked, fumbled the ball, the Patriots recovered it, it will be fourth and long, forcing an interesting decision late in the game by the Patriots. After the play is over, a Chargers player gets in the face of a Patriots player, head butts him and starts jawing. This is the reason these guys are getting shot in bars, folks, late at night. Fifteen-yard penalty, automatic first down. So for the Chargers to complain about the lack of class by the Patriots, I found laughable. I think something ought to be done about it, because I love the game of football, and I don’t like the kind of culture that’s taking over, that “you can’t diss me, you can’t disrespect me.” After every sack, players are acting like they’ve won the Super Bowl, and they’re prancing around with these idiotic dances. The latest thing is to act like they’re making a jump shot in basketball. It’s all done to taunt; it’s all done to taunt the other team’s fans.