Limbaugh, Olbermann, and Free-Market Football

Last week, Rush Limbaugh's bid to become an NFL owner ended when he was dropped by a group attempting to purchase the St. Louis Rams.  Players, owners, and league brass had made it clear they wanted no part of Limbaugh, who has a long history of racially insensitive commentary. 

Limbaugh's last flirtation with professional football, a short-lived broadcasting gig at ESPN, was a nightmare for all those involved.  The controversial radio host was forced to resign after suggesting that star quarterback Donovan McNabb was overrated because he's black.  More recently, Limbaugh compared NFL players to the "Bloods and the Crips."

But many conservatives, outraged that their vocal leader was rejected, are crying foul.  Over the weekend, Fox News contributor Juan Williams noted that MSNBC's Keith Olbermann is part of NBC's Football Night in America broadcasting team.  "Nobody says, 'Well, because [Olbmermann] makes divisive statements he can't announce an NFL game.' I don't see that," Williams said.  Picking up on Williams' argument, the right-wing Business and Media Institute has even produced a study purporting to show the "double standard" at play:

After conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh was forced out of a consortium seeking to buy the National Football League's St. Louis Rams, there's evidence there is a double standard at play in the NFL. [...]

A closer look at Olbermann's nightly MSNBC show indicated he's not exactly Mahatma Gandhi when it comes to bridging the gap [NFL Commissioner Roger] Goodell calls "divisive."

An analysis done by the Business & Media Institute indicated that since August 11, the beginning of NBC's coverage of the NFL, Olbermann has made conservative or right-leaning personalities the consistent target of his infamous "Worst Person in the World" segment. [...]

Since the beginning of football season Olbermann has named 91 right-leaning personalities or organizations as one of the three recipients, versus only two who could be perceived as left-leaning personalities or organizations. (Two others in the tally could not be defined as conservative or liberal.) That means Olbermann picks on conservatives 45 times more often than liberals - even worse than he used to be in 2006 when that ratio was only 8-1.

I'm not sure why it took a study to prove that Olbermann, an unabashed progressive, is consistently critical of right-wingers.  But more to the point, this is a classic case of false equivalency. 

Limbaugh wanted to buy a team in a league that is famously obsessed with its image.  Limbaugh's own image is terrible.  Perhaps that's why Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, whose political donations don't exactly paint a portrait of liberalism, was so strongly opposed to Limbaugh's bid.  Ultimately, though, the NFL never said Limbaugh couldn't pursue the team.  His business partner simply decided Limbaugh wasn't worth the trouble. 

On the other hand, Keith Olbermann isn't part of the NFL -- he works for NBC, which pays the NFL hundreds of millions of dollars per year to broadcast games.  Presumably, their agreement doesn't give the league control over pre-game broadcasts, but regardless, Olbermann has NBC's confidence.  After all, he made his name as an anchor on ESPN's SportsCenter.   

In the end, this is the free market at work.  Of course, conservatives only like the "culture of free enterprise" when it works for them.