THIS HAS TO BE the worst week in Rush Limbaugh’s storied career–and yet things could get much worse still. The king of political radio resigned from a side gig doing football commentary on ESPN because of what are being called “racially-charged comments”; at the same time, another story broke that Limbaugh has a serious drug habit, and as a result has become ensnared in a large narcotics investigation in Florida. To sum up the ESPN story: On Sunday, Limbaugh argued on air that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was receiving more praise than he deserved for his team’s performance–on account of the fact that McNabb is black. “I think what we’ve had here is a little social concern in the NFL. I think the media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. They’re interested in black coaches and black quarterbacks doing well. I think there’s a little hope invested in McNabb and he got a lot of credit for the performance of his team that he really didn’t deserve. The defense carried this team.”
Speaking to the National Association of Broadcasters on Thursday in an already scheduled address, Limbaugh said, “The great people at ESPN did not want to deal with this kind of reaction. . . . The path of least resistance became for me to resign.”
