I was disappointed, but not surprised, to read the Iowa State Daily’s Oct. 6 editorial, “Insensitive remarks hurt black athletes,” which concerned the comments made by Rush Limbaugh about NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb.

Limbaugh’s criticism was entirely directed at the media: “The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback can do well … and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn’t deserve.” The comments were not “racially insensitive,” simply his observation that the media allow their social bias to distort the way they present the news — even in sports.

Not surprisingly, criticism of the media led to a media-generated scandal that involved accusations of racism rather than substantive rebuttals of Limbaugh’s remarks.

Disappointingly, even the Iowa State Daily jumped in, decrying Limbaugh for “opening up the perpetual can of worms called the issue of race.” I had thought the Daily was a reliable supporter of freedom of speech and the discussion of controversial points of view. I guess that support is not extended as enthusiastically to conservatives.

Nicole Asmussen

Junior

Political Science