Did the Limbaugh fiasco prompt Khan's secrecy?

[EvilXenu]

Bernie has commented that Khan has been involved in the bidding process for months, but has done so privately and, in fact, managed to keep his interest in the team from being leaked to the media.

Makes me wonder... why all the secrecy?

Could it be that Khan, as a Pakistani Muslim, feared the (entirely unfair, as he is a long-time American citizen with no known ties to radicalism) potential backlash from a public that is prone to knee-jerk reactions to Muslims?

It would make sense if Khan feared such a reaction. Look what happened with Rush Limbaugh. He was set to be a small minority investor (as opposed to the primary owner that Khan would become), and the public went balistic.

Again, fair or not, Khan - had he been viewed as a mere potential candidate along side people like Dave Checketts - could have prompted a similar reaction.

By keeping it under wraps until now, it is more difficult for the knee-jerk crowd to do or say much about it. Its nearly a done deal, and the unfounded protest of a vocal, prejudiced, minority won't stop the deal from being completed.

If my suspicion is right, its kind of a sad commentary on the world we live in, no?

[BrokenWing]

I don't know, there are alot of reasons to keep your bid secret, just as there are many reasons to make it public. I suspect he kept it secret to avoid prolonged discussion about his IRS deal if anything at all. I think any speculation on why it was kept secret is just that, speculation. There are many reasons such deals can be kept secret. We still don't know other people that were involved either and I'm sure they aren't all muslims afraid of strange reactions.

[r8rh8rmike]

Could it be that Khan, as a Pakistani Muslim, feared the (entirely unfair, as he is a long-time American citizen with no known ties to radicalism) potential backlash from a public that is prone to knee-jerk reactions to Muslims?

If this was motivation for keeping things under wraps, I certainly couldn't blame him, there are a lot of stupid knee-jerkers out there that are quick to cast aspersions. Kahn is a Rams fan who actually enjoys going to games. Sounds like my type of owner. Besides, Muslims are nothing new to the NFL and we had a great one in Az-Zahir Hakim.

[RamsFanSam]

Pardon me for my lack of knowledge, but is Mr. Kahn a Muslim, or does he have a different religious preference? I ask because 1) I haven't seen anything in the news about is religion, and 2) I know several Pakastani immigrants who are Christian.

[Thresher]

Good question Sam.

I would also like to know (Your Avatar prompted this) Does he like dogs?

[RamsFanSam]

Good question Sam.

I would also like to know (Your Avatar prompted this) Does he like dogs?

Dunno, but my avatar isn't a pro-dog statement, it's a "If we get a different QB, let's get a better one" statement.

[Trevor]

If he wasn't muslim and was white would you be asking this question?

[HUbison]

If this was motivation for keeping things under wraps, I certainly couldn't blame him, there are a lot of stupid knee-jerkers out there that are quick to cast aspersions.

Good point, Mike. I wonder how long until Burwell attributes quotes to Khan that Khan never made.

[RebelYell]

Each of the parties making bids was supposedly required to sign a confidentiality agreement upon entering the bidding process. Goldman Sachs didn't want the bidding process played out in the press. If I remember correctly, Limbaugh had talked about buying into the Rams a long time ago so the media just asked him if he was involved and he confirmed that little and then it exploded. Rush didn't actually make significant comments until AFTER he was removed from the group making a bid.

Jim Thomas said last fall that he wasn't getting a lot of information because of the non-disclosure agreement. That's why Bernie called Khan Mr. X just last week.

[Nick_Weasel]

Maybe, but Occam's razor suggests there are a lot more likely explanations than that, not to mention I would be surprised if he weren't involved in the bidding process prior to Rush's Page Ranking problems.

Edit: Haha, I did not say "Rush's Page Ranking problems" but rather "Rush's PEE-ARR (as in public relations) problems, and the system changed it on me.

[shower beers]

Perhaps that if he and Limbaugh were publicly in the running for the team at the same time, Limbaugh would have less than flattering things to say about him on his radio show.

[txramsfan]

Don't care. Team is staying in St. Louis where it belongs. Case closed.

[molar_pistol]

i don't see how this has anything to do with limbaugh, pretty standard.

[helorm341]

limbaugh is a very famous polarizing public figure and Im sure 99.9999% of the us population never knew of khan before 72 hours ago. so no, there's no connection