When the news hit that Rush Limbaugh would join a group to purchase the NFL’s St. Louis Rams a lightweight, modern day, slave rebellion was set in motion.

It’s sad and encouraging to watch.

Sad. It’s a regression from a time when you could count on an African-American athlete to stand up for something.

Encouraging because, dammit, I’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting for one of these dudes to do something on par with their pioneering elders/ancestors in the sports world. (Oh Jack Johnson, where are you when we need you?)

First certain players came out in the media saying they would have a problem playing for a Limbaugh-owned Rams because of comments he has made about Donovan McNabb (QB for the Philly Eagles), president Obama and black people in general. Then the players union—although powerless to weigh in on ownership decisions—condemned the proposed deal.

In an e-mail to the union’s executive committee on Saturday specifically addressing Limbaugh’s bid, Smith (NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith) said, “I’ve spoken to the Commissioner [Roger Goodell] and I understand that this ownership consideration is in the early stages. But sport in America is at its best when it unifies, gives all of us reason to cheer, and when it transcends. Our sport does exactly that when it overcomes division and rejects discrimination and hatred.”

Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson also spoke out against Limbaugh becoming an owner in the NFL.

Although the actions of some African-American players and the players union—75 percent of the NFL is black—isn’t exactly comparable to the anti-racism and poverty protest staged by Tommy Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics,

or Muhammed Ali’s refusal to be inducted into the armed forces during the Vietnam War, or Curt Flood’s battle against baseball’s reserve clause, the move is significant in that black athletes—since the 60’s and 70’s—have largely been MIA from any political struggle.

Smith and Carlos paid a steep price for their actions, losing fortunes and having to go into literal exile. It’s probably still a cautionary tale: “You betta keep you mouth shut, boy, or you’ll end up like Tommy and John.”

There is a bronze statue of Smith and Carlos at San Jose State University now. Their greatness transcended the track, not because they ran fast, but because they spoke and sacrificed for the least of us from a lofty position while the whole world was watching.

NFL ballers, in particular, have received notoriety lately for criminal activity—Plaxico Burress and Michael Vick—being just two of the dozens of cases involving NFL players who got caught in messes ranging from domestic violence to assault with a deadly weapon.

Plax—OMG Plax, fa real Plax? A gun, Plax? In the club, Plax? No hoslter, Plax? Unregistered Plax? You shoot yourself, Plax? After catching the winning TD in a Superbowl, Plax? After signing a new deal worth 45 mil, Plax? Say it ain’t so, Plaxico.

NFl players are notoriously pampered and because of their high salaries there is a perception that they wouldn’t risk losing endorsements, or the favor of their owners, by being labeled a trouble maker while standing up for what’s right. But Limbaugh, because of his high profile disses of black people and Obama, seems to have brought out the activist in this generation of black athletic leadership, if only for a time and if only for an issue that is a distraction from the people’s real issues.

I think it is wishful thinking (not impossible, but wishful) to expect the NFL owners to keep out a suitor rich enough to buy into their league, but it can only be counted as a positive that these million-dollar athletes are doing SOMETHING, ANYTHING that fights against racism and it’s spokespersons.

The cold reality is that the NFL has no majority black owners in a league dominated by black players (the Williams sisters just bought a piece of the Miami Dolphins). It is one of the modern versions of slavery manifest, with the super field hands paid enormous salaries but kept out of the big house.

My guess is that—among the 32 owners in the NFL—Limbaugh’s political views are shared by a significant number of this exclusive club. You might not be playing for Limbaugh but you might be playing for a owner just like him, minus the big mouth and media empire. What is the difference?

Oh, well. When you have been starving for 40 years, even a cracker with peanut butter is better than nothing.

Thanks Black NFL, yawn—Jackie Robinson you are not, but thanks anyway.
—Kevin Weston