That explains a lot
Jackson was ready to Rush out door
In the hours leading up to Rush Limbaugh's resignation from ESPN Wednesday, the network's suits faced another dilemma that could have ripped apart the cast of their Sunday "NFL Countdown" show.
Well-embedded moles report that Tom Jackson, a 16-year ESPN veteran and the most popular member of the "Countdown" cast, would have quit the show if Limbaugh had stayed.
[deleted: a recounting of Limberger's spew]Spies say that in a short post-production meeting following Sunday's show, which Limbaugh did not attend, not a word was said about his remarks.
But McNabb was upset that none of the "Countdown" crew -- Jackson, Chris Berman, Michael Irvin, Steve Young -- had directly challenged Limbaugh's noxious spew.
Jackson, who did challenge the football element of Limbaugh's commentary but not the racist part, also caught heat in some media quarters and from some of his friends.
On Wednesday, Jackson told an ESPN executive by phone he was going to attend the "Countdown" production meeting tomorrow, tell Limbaugh what he thought of him, quit the show and fly home.
Jackson's stance was exactly opposite to the one ESPN wanted the "Countdown" cast to take. With outside pressure mounting, management wanted Jackson & Co. to cooperate and help cool things down.
That might explain why Berman went on the record saying he didn't believe Limbaugh's tone or intent was malicious, but "I probably should have looked to soften it."
Spies say Jackson wasn't buying Berman's spin, or the words of ESPN executive VP Mark Shapiro, who rushed to Limbaugh's defense in Wednesday's USA Today.
Even Shapiro had to know there would be major problems if Jackson had quit. If that happened, the rest of the "Countdown" cast members, all close to Jackson, would have been forced to do something.
How would they, or any ESPN suit, be able to justify why Limbaugh, after offending with his remarks, was still on "Countdown" and Jackson was not? How would they explain why Jackson had left the show?
Jackson's colleagues would have either taken an integrity hit, giving tacit support to Limbaugh and his warped perspective, or followed Jackson out the door. If Limbaugh had stayed and Jackson had split, "Countdown" would have been in serious trouble.
Jackson's decision to bolt was a major pressure point leading to Limbaugh's resignation. Well before Limbaugh's McNabb statement, the "Countdown" scene could not be described as a lovefest.
Some staffers were uneasy and angry when Limbaugh was hired. They knew he was capable of stirring the pot in a negative way. So, when it happened, Jackson got burned for not responding to Limbaugh. The fuel for this particular fire was provided by the ESPN executives who hired Limbaugh.
Perhaps that's why Jackson was so angry. After all, it wasn't his idea to hire someone who brought absolutely nothing to the table in terms of football knowledge. No, this was all about having a human train wreck on the scene to juice ratings. The message was clear: Watch "Countdown" or you might miss what Rush said.
