Rich Sanchez of CNN and others went about reporting untrue statements about Rush Limbaugh to prove their points. The sad thing is, there is plenty of truth about Limbaugh's racism to point to.
There are many, many youtube clips of Rush being obnoxious. There are transcripts on his own website.
No one needed to cite things that weren't true.
Now Rush Limbaugh gets to say EVERYTHING that's ever been said against him is a set up, a lie, that people are out to get him. It gave him a leg to stand on.
Sanchez and others practiced shoddy journalism and created a bigger Rush Limbaugh. Thanks a lot people. Here is Rush's op-ed in the WSJ, which is now, by the way, the highest circulation daily newspaper, whining with credibility about how he was blocked from buying an NFL team.
Next came writers in the sports world, like the Washington Post's Michael Wilbon. He wrote this gem earlier this week: "I'm not going to try and give specific examples of things Limbaugh has said over the years because I screwed up already doing that, repeating a quote attributed to Limbaugh (about slavery) which he has told me he simply did not say and does not reflect his feelings. I take him at his word. . . . "Limbaugh is also right about Al Sharpton. I lived in New York around the time of the Tawana Brawley incident and it was like Balloon Boy (as far as the amount of attention devoted), only it lasted weeks. Brawley accused a group of white men of raping her to escape punishment. She wrote racial slurs on her body. It was horrible. She later admitted it was a hoax. Sharpton tagged on to the case without investigating it. He didn't do any do diligence. He just believed her, which erased his credibility. He disappeared for a while after he was found guilt of defamation. It's a reason I've never liked Sharpton. He gave the racists ammunition. Rush's point is that the most vehement against him ought not to be throwing stones. Again, he's right.
Mr. Wilbon wasn't alone. Numerous sportswriters, CNN, MSNBC, among others, falsely attributed to me statements I had never made. Their sources, as best I can tell, were Wikipedia and each other. But the Wikipedia post was based on a fabrication printed in a book that also lacked any citation to an actual source.
I never said I supported slavery and I never praised James Earl Ray. How sick would that be? Just as sick as those who would use such outrageous slanders against me or anyone else who never even thought such things. Mr. Wilbon refuses to take responsibility for his poison pen, writing instead that he will take my word that I did not make these statements; others, like Rick Sanchez of CNN, essentially used the same sleight-of-hand.
The sports media elicited comments from a handful of players, none of whom I can recall ever meeting. Among other things, at least one said he would never play for a team I was involved in given my racial views. My racial views? You mean, my belief in a colorblind society where every individual is treated as a precious human being without regard to his race? Where football players should earn as much as they can and keep as much as they can, regardless of race? Those controversial racial views?WSJ
It didn't take long before my name was selectively leaked to the media as part of the Checketts investment group. Shortly thereafter, the media elicited comments from the likes of Al Sharpton. In 1998 Mr. Sharpton was found guilty of defamation and ordered to pay $65,000 for falsely accusing a New York prosecutor of rape in the 1987 Tawana Brawley case. He also played a leading role in the 1991 Crown Heights riot (he called neighborhood Jews "diamond merchants") and 1995 Freddie's Fashion Mart riot.Sanchez apologizes:
