Is it a true statement? (Oh, my mistake. Sorry for asking the only really pertinent question about the matter).
Ask McNabb....Al
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'Rush who?'
Eagles downplay Limbaugh remarks -- not the connotations
Posted: Wednesday October 1, 2003 3:06PM
Donovan McNabb has a QB rating of 51.1 through the first three games.
AP
PHILADELPHIA (CNN) -- Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb on Wednesday sloughed off Rush Limbaugh's controversial comments about black quarterbacks, saying he has faced negative racial attitudes and been motivated by them all his life.
"I'm a football player. That was my dream. My dream was to play football, play in the NFL, and I will continue to fulfill my dream," McNabb said.
But McNabb, a highly popular quarterback who has led the Eagles to two consecutive NFC title games, said he is concerned about the effects Limbaugh's comments would have on black families and prospective athletes across the globe.
"It's pretty, pretty heavy," McNabb said. "It's something obviously I have been going through ever since I was young, through high school, through college, through the NFL. You figure it would have been over by now."
McNabb said he is sure that Limbaugh is "not the only one who feels that way" but "it's somewhat shocking to actually hear that on national TV from him."
Before McNabb led the Eagles to a 23-13 victory against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, commentator Rush Limbaugh said on ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown that the fifth-year quarterback is overrated and raised the issue of his race.
McNabb and the Eagles are off to a shaky start this year with a 1-2 record and his performance has been criticized. But Limbaugh argued that McNabb, a three-time Pro Bowler and runner-up as league MVP after his first full season as a starter, has never been as good as his press clippings.
"I don't think he's been that good from the get-go," Limbaugh said. "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. 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."
McNabb said people idolize black quarterbacks, referring to the Minnesota Vikings' Daunte Culpepper and the Atlanta Falcons' Michael Vick, among others, and black quarterbacks in college.
"My worries were not about what was said, but just what about the people who were watching. What about them? What about the African-American homes ... the kids, the parents, when they hear something like that on national TV, on ESPN. What do they think?"
He said the comments aren't a "distraction" and he doesn't need a personal apology.
SI.com's Peter King
I had to shake my head when I heard about Rush Limbaugh's comments on Donovan McNabb. You may have heard them by now, but if you haven't, Limbaugh said on ESPN's Sunday pre-game show that he didn't think the Eagles quarterback was as good as the media made him out to be.
# Click here for full story.
"What is that going to do? You've already said it. You've thought about it, so you had time to think about it before you said it," he said.
"It's not really over. But there's nothing you can do to change it," he said.
McNabb said that the comments "pinpoint" all black players in the league and those in other sports.
One of the things that bother McNabb was that others who were on the set of the show didn't challenge Limbaugh. "I kind of worry about that aspect of it," McNabb said. "Somebody should have said something to the race issue."
McNabb said people have to watch what they say on TV, pointing out that "when you are on TV everyone is watching."
"But anytime you tackle an issue that obviously has been a problem for us for so many years, people are going to talk about it. And if you have no answer for it, don't think it's going to just die out. It's going to continue on."
While McNabb made it clear he wasn't "here to judge anyone," he said that he doesn't want to see Limbaugh, who is expected to be in Philadelphia soon.
McNabb said "he doesn't have to come see me" and "I really don't want to see him." He doesn't know if Limbaugh has tried to contact him.
Limbaugh, in his first season with ESPN, is a conservative radio host best known as the host of the politically focused Rush Limbaugh Show, which is syndicated in more than 650 markets worldwide.
McNabb, the No. 2 overall pick in the 1999 draft, has helped turn the Eagles around from a poor team into a championship contender.
He has completed 987 of 1,750 passes for 10,341 yards, 71 TDs and 41 interceptions in 57 regular-season games. He also has run for 2,040 yards and 14 TDs. In seven playoff games, he has completed 150 of 248 passes for 1,459 yards, nine TDs and six interceptions. He also has 210 yards rushing and three TDs.
The Eagles are 36-22 in his starts, including the playoffs.
Earlier, a reporter asked Eagles head coach Andy Reid about Limbaugh's comments and the poker-faced Reid asked back, "Rush who?" |
