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  • #1

    Sources: Checketts To Drop Limbaugh

    Updated: October 14, 2009, 3:36 PM ET
    Sources: Checketts to drop Limbaugh
    By Adam Schefter ESPN Archive


    Rush Limbaugh is expected to be dropped from a group bidding to buy the St. Louis Rams, according to three NFL sources.

    Dave Checketts, chairman of the NHL's St. Louis Blues and the point man in the Limbaugh group attempting to buy the Rams, realizes he must remove the controversial conservative radio host from his potential role as a minority member in the group in order to get approval from other NFL owners, the sources said.

    Three-quarters of the league's 32 owners would have to approve any sale to Limbaugh and his group. Earlier this week, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay predicted that Limbaugh's potential bid would be met by significant opposition. Several players have also voiced their displeasure with Limbaugh's potential ownership position, and NFL Players Association head DeMaurice Smith, who is black, urged players to speak out against Limbaugh's bid.

    Ultimately, the sources said, Checketts must reconfigure his group and find another investor to make his bid more viable.

    Exactly when Limbaugh will be dropped is uncertain, though some familiar with the situation said it could be within the next week. It is unclear if the two sides even have spoken.

    Earlier Wednesday, on his syndicated radio show, Limbaugh was defiant, holding on to hope that he still could be part of the ownership group that buys the Rams.

    "I'm not even thinking of exiting," Limbaugh said on his program, according to a transcript provided to ESPN. "I'm not even thinking of caving. I am not a caver. None of us are. We have been betrayed by too many who have caved. Pioneers take the arrows. We are pioneers. It's a sad thing but our country over 200 years old now needs pioneers all over again, but we do."

    Without Limbaugh, Checketts and his group would have to find a financial substitute to replace the sizable investment that Limbaugh intended to make. At the NFL owners meetings this week in Boston, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell addressed Limbaugh's potential involvement in the league and said "divisive comments are not what the NFL is all about."

    Goodell added: "I've said many times before, we're all held to a high standard here. I would not want to see those comments coming from people who are in a responsible position in the NFL -- absolutely not."

    In 2003, Limbaugh was forced to resign from ESPN's Sunday Night Football broadcast after saying of Philadelphia's Donovan McNabb: "I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well."
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Sources: Checketts To Drop Limbaugh

    Well, that certainly would be a victory for screaming mobs everywhere.

    Comment

    • #3
      Re: Sources: Checketts To Drop Limbaugh

      I wonder with the debt they are estimated to take on, how much does the 30% owner have to come up with? $250 million is a minimum before debt but I'm not sure if it's then reduced to say $175 million? Still, probably not easy finding guys like that just anywhere.

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: Sources: Checketts To Drop Limbaugh

        If true, I'm a little disappointed that they would cave like that. I'm not Rush Limbaugh fan, but I hate when certain people push, shove and cry until they get their way.
        The Rams... Where dreams go to die.

        Comment

        • #5
          Re: Sources: Checketts To Drop Limbaugh

          Its better this way. Too much negative press exactly what we don't need. I have never seen the Rams so much on ESPN since the GSOT, we also got some time on CNN and MSNBC and other places. He is just too much of a polarizing figure and way to controversial IMO. It's not the Mark Cuban (owner of the Dallas Mavericks) kind of controversial it is the horrible kind

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: Sources: Checketts To Drop Limbaugh

            It's his own fault. He shouldn't have voiced his opinion. And he should take responsibility for the things he says........and even those he did not say (eh, Burwell?)

            No, the NFL is better than that. He should have electrocuted dogs, shot himself in the leg, and maintain a rap sheet of numerous DUIs like respectable NFL employees. All that is okay. Voicing an opinion? Not so much.
            The more things change, the more they stay the same.

            Comment

            • #7
              Re: Sources: Checketts To Drop Limbaugh

              It's his own fault. He shouldn't have voiced his opinion. And he should take responsibility for the things he says........and even those he did not say (eh, Burwell?)

              No, the NFL is better than that. He should have electrocuted dogs, shot himself in the leg, and maintain a rap sheet of numerous DUIs like respectable NFL employees. All that is okay. Voicing an opinion? Not so much.
              Well said, Hub.

              I might add that anyone who pisses off Al Sharpton (who in my opinion is probably one if the biggest racists in America) is OK by me.
              Clannie Nominee for ClanRam's Thickest Poster

              Comment

              • #8
                Re: Sources: Checketts To Drop Limbaugh

                im not even gonna go there on his political views etc..

                but when a "silent partner" becomes the centre of attention..something gotta give.

                hope Checketts (if the reports are true of course) can find a more silent ,silent partner because i think he could be a great owner for us.

                folks can argue if he should stay with Rush or not..but i think he realises that the dream of becoming a head owner in the NFL just isnt gonna happen with Rush behind him.

                Comment

                • #9
                  Re: Sources: Checketts To Drop Limbaugh

                  It hasn't actually happened yet, but was there any doubt that this was going to be the way it played out? Limbaugh is radioactive, deserved or not, and he was never going to pass muster all the way through the process.

                  Obviosly Checketts is still interested in the Rams and will do the only thing that keeps him in the running. It will be interesting to see if there is a lingering backlash against him for including Limbaugh in his group in the first place.

                  The sooner this goes away, the better.

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Re: Sources: Checketts To Drop Limbaugh

                    Originally posted by HUbison View Post
                    It's his own fault. He shouldn't have voiced his opinion. And he should take responsibility for the things he says........and even those he did not say (eh, Burwell?)

                    No, the NFL is better than that. He should have electrocuted dogs, shot himself in the leg, and maintain a rap sheet of numerous DUIs like respectable NFL employees. All that is okay. Voicing an opinion? Not so much.
                    When his opinions significantly handicap the Rams' ability to sign players at anything approximating real market value and result me being scorned as opposed to ridiculed for being a Rams fan, then yes, voicing them is a problem.

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Re: Sources: Checketts To Drop Limbaugh

                      The only thing that bother me is the timing. This happened two days after Sharpton and J.Jackson started pissing and moaning.

                      Al Sharpton, Jessie Jackson, and DeMaurice Smith all brought up the fact that the NFL is mostly black. Therefor Limbaugh shouldn't be allowed to own a team, because he is supposedly a racist (even though he employs African Americans on his show).

                      So on the one hand we have a white racist (or so people say), Limbaugh. On the other hand, we have two black racists (Jackson and Sharpton).

                      Goodell immediately caves in, and all but comes right out and says that Limbaugh won't be able to own the team because his "polarizing views" aren't something we want in the NFL. But apparently Sharpton's and Jackson's polarizing racist statements are okay.

                      Why?

                      We cannot start denying people things just because we don't agree with their point of view. How is that any better than denying somebody something because of the color of their skin?

                      It isn't. So why is this kind of prejudice exceptable?

                      Look, I didn't really care one way or the other if Rush bought the team. But I think he should have at least been given the opportunity.

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Re: Sources: Checketts To Drop Limbaugh

                        Rush got a bad wrap, in my opinion. 99% of the so-called "quotes" that you hear about are made up. Not taken out of context, but completely made up. I've actually heard that Limbaugh is pursuing legal action.

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Re: Sources: Checketts To Drop Limbaugh

                          its done and over with guys. lets get back to rooting for our team and for Checketts to keep them in St. Louis.

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Re: Sources: Checketts To Drop Limbaugh

                            I never liked that Rush was a potential minority owner of the Rams, but I at least respected his opportunity to become one. I don't agree with him ever, but there's no reason why he shouldn't be given a chance to do so. I just hope that Checketts is able to find someone with some money to blow to keep his bid going. I really want to see him get a chance to revive the Rams.
                            I believe!:ram:

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Re: Sources: Checketts To Drop Limbaugh

                              No matter what side of this arguement you're on, dropping Limbaugh appears to be the best thing that could happen to this franchise under the circumstances, regardless of who's hurt by the decision.

                              It makes absolutely no sense for a team in a position like the Rams, to pursue someone who has more potential of chasing players away than adding them to the roster.

                              How anyone could've perceived Limbaugh to be a viable option is beyond me. The mere mention of him as a potential owner is no less than a trainwreck waiting to happen.

                              A trainwreck of his own doing, I might add.

                              IMO, it would've been a simple matter of time before he stuck his foot in his mouth again, had the uproar not occurred and he not been denounced.

                              Some of you are hurt by that. Hurling insensitive comments at the likes of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton as if they were the only ones opposed to this debacle of an idea. And then even having the nerve to compare an individuals misconduct to something that has killed more men women and children than anything this world has ever known, (racism).

                              Shame on you.

                              No one persons indescretions could come anywhere close to comparing with the institution of racism, which is the reason Limbaugh will not be allowed in. Not saying he's a racist, but he's certainly racist-ish.

                              His unfiltered, race-baiting comments are not as harmless as some of you try to make them out to be. They actually offend millions. I would suggest that it's easy to pass off his comments as just a shock-jock trying to make ratings if you're not the target of any them. However, being the target of someone's wrath has a whole different feel to it, I can assure you.

                              So my only message to Limbaugh is...you've made your bed sir, now lie in it.

                              Comment

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                              • Varg6
                                With Limbaugh out, Faulk to join bid?
                                by Varg6
                                ST. LOUIS -- Conservative radio personality Rush Limbaugh lashed out at NFL union leader DeMaurice Smith, activists Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson and the media a day after being dropped from a group trying to buy the St. Louis Rams.

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                                "I said to him at this meeting, 'Are you aware of the firestorm?' He said 'We wouldn't have approached you if we hadn't taken care of that,' " said Limbaugh, a conservative favorite who is reviled by many liberals.


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                                NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Colts owner Jim Irsay each expressed misgivings this week at a league-wide meeting about Limbaugh's involvement, with Goodell saying Limbaugh had made "polarizing" comments and Irsay vowing to vote against him.

                                On Wednesday, Checketts said Limbaugh had been dropped from the bid.

                                "This reflects where we're moving in an ethical nature," said Dan Lebowitz, executive director of the Center for Sports and Society at Northeastern University.

                                "The league has 78 percent African-American players," Lebowitz said. "Do you bring in someone who has made racist statements to own a team that's largely made up of players the owner has made slurring statements about?"

                                With Limbaugh out, the Checketts group is sifting through new investors. A person familiar with the process said global financier and philanthropist George Soros is not under consideration to be a part of the Checketts group. Former Rams running back Marshall Faulk could be part of it, a source said.

                                Checketts is a ways away from reconfiguring the investment group, as the Rams are a ways from being sold at this point.

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                                Limbaugh's history hurt his participation in the bid. In 2003, he was forced to resign from ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown" after saying of the Eagles' Donovan McNabb: "I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well."

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                                -10-15-2009, 08:25 PM
                              • MauiRam
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                                by MauiRam
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                                Radio personality Rush Limbaugh has joined forces with St. Louis Blues owner Dave Checketts in a bid to buy the St. Louis Rams football team, NFL sources confirmed Monday.

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                                "There is no inevitability for the team to wind up being for sale anyway. There may be bidders, but that doesn't mean there will be a sale. Ownership has said all along it would go through this process and evaluate its options. They are under no pressure to sell the team."

                                Checketts, the founder and chief executive officer of SCP Worldwide, a New York-based firm that owns and operates the Blues, would be the frontman for a group of investors that would purchase at minimum the 60 percent share of the Rams owned by Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez, the son and daughter of the Rams' late owner, Georgia Frontiere.

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                              • Alec22
                                Oh God, its Limbaugh Again........
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                                "Rush Limbaugh really is interested in buying the Rams. Limbaugh and St. Louis Blues owner Dave Checketts head up one of three groups that submitted bids to buy the team, Charley Casserly of CBS reports. It's not clear whether the Checketts/Limbaugh bid includes the 40 percent stake owned by Stan Kroenke or the 60 percent stake owned by the late Georgia Frontiere's children. Rumors of Limbaugh's interest in the team started in May, and he was spotted at the Rams game on Sept. 20."

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