As you may have heard from SportsCenter, the Iowa State Daily’s sports section or your classmates, Rush Limbaugh, the famed controversial conservative talk show host, made some surprisingly non-political news last week when his interest in co-buying an NFL franchise — the likely soon-to-be-sold St. Louis Rams — became known.

As he told a reporter, “The Rams would be a great team to have. I have a lot of friends in ownership in the NFL, and my desire to get involved has not been a secret.”

“So what’s the big deal?” you might wonder.

Limbaugh definitely has some free capital — his eight-year radio deal is worth $300 million. The Rams have an 0-5 record coinciding with the departure of the Iowa Barnstormer’s Kurt Warner, and plenty of famous people own a share of professional sports teams.

The NFL’s Miami Dolphins, for a notable and relevant example, are part-owned by a number of A-list celebs, including Jimmy Buffett, Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez, Gloria Estefan, Venus and Serena Williams and, as of Tuesday, Fergie.

Furthermore, after many abysmal seasons over the last decade, the Dolphins made the playoffs last year and are on the up-and-up. This trend suggests that perhaps luxury-box star power correlates with the on-field success of their co-owned football team. Thus Limbaugh, love him or hate him, might seem to be just the type of owner the Rams need.

The hubbub around Limbaugh arises because he is just what the NFL does not need. Not only would Limbaugh be another rich white owner of a pro team — the ownership team of the Dolphins is an extremely rare case of diversity in a league of billionaires — but he would represent what the league does not want to be affiliated with.

As a former employee of ESPN’s NFL Sunday Countdown, Limbaugh quickly resigned in 2003 after making racially motivated comments about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb. “I think what we’ve had here is a little social concern in the NFL,” he said. “The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. There is little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn’t deserve.”

In 2007, Limbaugh proved that he had not learned his lesson. In referring to the league, he stated, “Look, let me put it to you this way: The NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips without any weapons. There, I said it.”

Outside the realm of the NFL, but no less relevant given the large number of black players on every one of its teams, Limbaugh has said much worse.

About african americans, and likely his worst utterance: “They’re 12 percent of the population. Who the hell cares?”

Not surprisingly, these words and sentiments of the past have caused many to speak out against Limbaugh’s potential ownership position.

NFL Players Association head DeMaurice Smith urged players to voice their displeasure, and seven players did so last weekend.

    Many players also spoke out, suggesting they would not be willing to play for a Limbaugh-owned team.

Of course, some might say this is taking things too personally. After all, as the old Godfather adage tells us, “It’s not personal, it’s business.” But, in this case, the two cannot be separated.

Consider, for example, if a college player is drafted or a free agent is traded to the Rams, a team that will inevitably have many high picks and dollars to spend over the next few years due to its woefulness.

If that player wants to have a career in the NFL, he would have to work for this man, meaning that his success would create financial success for Limbaugh.

In addition, many present or future Rams might feel that by playing for Limbaugh — due to business concerns — they would be subtly acquiescing to his racism.

Every NFL-affiliated individual — especially owners, three-fourths of whom would have to vote in support of Limbaugh’s joining the ownership group — should feel the same way about the prospects of Limbaugh becoming an owner. By accepting him into their club, they would be indirectly accepting his racist views.

Luckily, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell understands this.

As he stated, “Divisive comments are not what the NFL is about. I’ve said many times before, we’re all held to a high standard here. I would not want to see those comments coming from people who are in a responsible position in the NFL — absolutely not.”

As a result of this comment and many others, Dave Checketts, who is leading the ownership group that Limbaugh would have been a part of, announced Wednesday that Limbaugh would be dropped from the group due to how he has complicated its plans.

The NFL is one of the few places we can regularly see the increasing diversity, both of players and coaches, that Limbaugh detests. In an ownership position, Limbaugh would undermine this success.

We should all applaud Limbaugh’s rejection and hope it is only the most prominent of many that occur every day and will continue to in the future.

However wealthy, famous or whatever political ideology one holds, no one — from football players to office workers — should have to work for the likes of Limbaugh.

 Steve Adams is a graduate student in journalism and mass communication from Annapolis, Maryland.