We Need Rules for Race-Hustlers

Well, now we know. When it comes to ownership in the National Football League, outspoken conservatives need not apply. But it is OK for an outspoken and divisive liberal like Keith Olbermann to be an NFL broadcaster. That's different.

For Rush Limbaugh to belong to a syndicate aiming to buy a majority interest in the St. Louis Rams is beyond the pale. That's because, you see, according to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, reported in the Washington Post he is too divisive:

"I've said many times before we're all held to a high standard here, and I think divisive comments are not what the NFL is all about," Goodell said at an NFL owners' meeting.

What was the problem? Just some made up racist quotes dredged up from Wikipedia and retailed by people like St. Louis Post Dispatch sportswriter Bryan Burwell.

You know what I think. I think it is time to establish some rules for race-baiters, particularly journalists operating in the mainstream media. If you don't follow these rules then your statements make you liable under the rules of libel: having a reckless disregard for the truth.

1. A charge of racism is the most serious charge you can make against an American.
2. A charge of racism must be supported by a primary source.
3. A primary source is a video, an audio, a transcript, s sworn statement.
4. A primary source is not Wikipedia, Wikiquote, a blogger, or an unsourced quote in a book.

If you haven't met these rules then you must expect to pay damages for your reckless speech.

Then there is the NFL. I think the NFL needs to understand that 40 percent of Americans are conservative, and that the NFL needs to keep friends in both political parties if it expects to maintain its anti-trust privileges as a national institution. It may be that the NFL needs a sharp blow upside the head before it "gets it."