Thursday, October 02, 2003
NEW YORK Without backing down from his comments about a black football player, conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh resigned from his TV sports job, saying he regretted having caused "discomfort" to his colleagues at ESPN.
Limbaugh stepped down from the sports network's "Sunday NFL Countdown" late Wednesday, three days after making the statements that sparked outrage from Democratic presidential candidates, the NAACP (search) and the player himself.
The cable sports network accepted the radio talk show host's resignation.
"My comments this past Sunday were directed at the media and were not racially motivated," Limbaugh said in a statement Wednesday. "I offered an opinion. This opinion has caused discomfort to the crew, which I regret.
"I love `NFL Sunday Countdown' and do not want to be a distraction to the great work done by all who work on it," Limbaugh said. "Therefore, I have decided to resign."
Limbaugh was criticized for arguing during a pregame show Sunday that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb (search) is overrated because the media wanted to see a black quarterback succeed.
"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," Limbaugh said.
"There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn't deserve. The defense carried this team," he said.
Seven black quarterbacks started games last weekend. Two other blacks who regularly start were out with injuries.
Limbaugh did not back down during his syndicated radio talk show earlier Wednesday.
"All this has become the tempest that it is because I must have been right about something," Limbaugh said. "If I wasn't right, there wouldn't be this cacophony of outrage that has sprung up in the sports writer community."
Democratic presidential candidates Wesley Clark, Howard Dean and the Rev. Al Sharpton had called for ESPN to fire Limbaugh. Clark, a retired Army general, called the remarks "hateful and ignorant speech." And Dean, a former Vermont governor, labeled them "absurd and offensive."
The NAACP also condemned Limbaugh's remarks, calling them "bigoted and ignorant," and called for the network to fire Limbaugh or at least provide an opposing point of view on the show.
McNabb had said earlier Wednesday that he didn't mind criticism of his performance, but was upset that Limbaugh made his race an issue and said it was too late for an apology.
"It's somewhat shocking to hear that on national TV from him," McNabb said. "It's not something that I can sit here and say won't bother me."
Chris Berman, who anchors the ESPN show, said he did not believe Limbaugh's tone or intent was malicious.
"As cut and dry as it seems in print, I didn't think so when it went by my ears," Berman said. "I probably should have looked to soften it."
Also Wednesday, media reports surfaced saying Limbaugh was under investigation in Florida for illegally buying and abusing prescription painkillers.
The New York Daily News, without identifying its source, reported in Thursday editions that Limbaugh was being investigated by the Palm Beach County state attorney's office. The newspaper said it had independently confirmed the allegations, first reported by the National Enquirer.
The Enquirer had interviewed Wilma Cline, who said she became Limbaugh's drug connection after working as his maid, according to the Daily News. She said that Limbaugh had abused OxyContin (search) and other painkillers.
A Miami lawyer for Cline, Ed Shohat, did not immediately return a phone message left by The Associated Press at his office before business hours Thursday. Limbaugh's lawyers could immediately not be located by The Associated Press for comment.
Mike Edmondson, a spokesman for the Palm Beach County state attorney's office, told the AP early Thursday that his office could neither confirm nor deny that an investigation was under way.
Limbaugh is the radio host of the politically focused "Rush Limbaugh Show," syndicated in more than 650 markets. ESPN spokesman Dave Nagle said ratings for "Sunday NFL Countdown" were up 10 percent overall since Limbaugh joined the show this year.
George Bodenheimer, president of ESPN and ABC Sports, accepted Limbaugh's resignation Wednesday. ABC and ESPN are owned by Walt Disney Co.
"We regret the circumstances surrounding this," Bodenheimer said. "We believe that he took the appropriate action to resolve this matter expeditiously."
Limbaugh was scheduled to deliver the keynote speech at the National Association of Broadcasters (search) convention in Philadelphia on Thursday morning.
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