Sharpton/Jackson Ask NFL To Block Limbaugh Bid

The latest complaints came a day after executive director of the NFL Players Association, DeMaurice Smith, urged players to speak out against Limbaugh's bid.
"I have asked our players to embrace their roles not only in the game of football but also as players and partners in the business of the NFL," Smith said in a statement Sunday. "They risk everything to play this game, they understand that risk and they live with that risk and its consequences for the rest of their life.
"We also know that there is an ugly part of history and we will not risk going backwards, giving up giving in or lying down to it.

clipped from wbztv.com The Revs. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson attacked the bid by Rush Limbaugh to buy the St. Louis Rams on Monday, saying the conservative radio host's track record on race should exclude him from owning an NFL team. Sharpton sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, arguing that Limbaugh has been divisive and "anti-NFL" in some of his comments "appealing to the fears of whites" with an unending line of insults against blacks and other minorities. In 2003, Limbaugh worked briefly on ESPN's NFL pregame show. He resigned after saying Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was overrated because the media wanted to see a black quarterback succeed. January 2007 show, Limbaugh commented: "The NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips without any weapons. There, I said it." "We also know that there is an ugly part of history and we will not risk going backwards, giving up giving in or lying down to it."