by George Mulligan

Created on: November 06, 2009   Last Updated: November 07, 2009

I am glad the NFL decided to pass on rushing to accept Rush Limbaugh's attempt to become an owner of an NFL team, because of what I consider his unsportsmanlike conduct. In his decades of polemical diatribes against real, imagined, or manufactured issues, positions and people, while he was propagating galvanizing exaltations for his benefactors and sponsors positions, or for his own beliefs.

The NFL is a respected and admired organization of 32 independent and interdependent franchises. Like it or not, there is an obligation towards, and an affect on, society. Mr. Limbaugh's most ardent admirers would likely concede, Mr. Limbaugh takes positions that attract some and repel others. That is a situation which has an affect on an international businesses organization's (real or perceived) profitability.

On a weekly basis we see flags thrown on ego centric celebrations for touchdowns, sacks, tackles, and various acts by men with super: size, speed, strength, agility, and other skills or talents. Flags are thrown for late hits and various infractions of rules of the game. The NFL is a business and a game.

Sportsmanship is a valued quality from sandlot and Pop Warner, through High School and College to the Pros, for a very unique and special set of reasons:

From Wikipedia: Sportsmanship is conformance to the rules, spirit, and etiquette of sport. More grandly, it may be considered the ethos of sport. It is interesting that the motivation for sport is often an elusive element. Sportsmanship expresses an aspiration or ethos that the activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors. Being a "good sport" involves being a "good winner" as well as being a "good loser".[1]

Often pressures of competition, individual achievement, or introduction of technology can seem to work against enjoyment by participants. As a result, sportsmanship may be contrasted with gamesmanship. Examples of poor sportsmanship are winners "rubbing salt in the wounds" of the losers, or the losers expressing frustration at not winning. < end wikipedia >

We have freedom to own a business or to work for whom or where we choose. However the NFL is a syndicate with only 32 member and anti-trust exemptions, beyond Constitutional, Statutory, Regulatory, and League Business and Labor rights and obligations.

In no way would I want to abridge Mr. Limbaugh rights to Freedom of Speech or means to make a

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