Also read: Rush Limbaugh, Barack Obama, football, accountability

"It has become clear that [Rush Limbaugh's] involvement in our group has become a complication and a distraction to our intentions, endangering our bid to keep the team in St. Louis," said Dave Checketts, chairman of the St. Louis Blues and head of a partnership that had included the talk-show host. "As such, we have decided to move forward without him and hope it will eventually lead us to a successful conclusion."

Limbaugh claims to be mainstream. Is he? Click here to read our article.

Limbaugh's reaction? "This is not about the NFL, it's not about the St. Louis Rams, it's not about me," reports ESPN. "This is about the ongoing effort by the left in this country, wherever you find them, in the media, the Democrat Party, or wherever, to destroy conservatism, to prevent the mainstreaming of anyone who is prominent as a conservative."

During his show Wednesday, Limbaugh added, "This is the latest in a long line of attempts by the left to discredit any of us who believe what we believe."

The criticism over Limbaugh's involvement in the bid actually began from people inside the NFL. It started when NFL Players Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith sent an e-mail to the executive committee opposing Limbaugh's involvement. "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," Smith wrote.

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay added, "I myself couldn't even think of voting for him … I'm very sensitive to know there are scars out there. I think as a nation we need to stop it. Our words do damage and it's something that we don't need. We need to get to a higher level of humanity."

This was followed by a statement from Commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday: "I've said many times before, we're all held to a higher standard here and I think divisive comments are not what the NFL is all about," reports The Washington Post. "I would not want to see those kinds of comments from people who are in a responsible position in the NFL, absolutely not."

Limbaugh was briefly an NFL commentator in 2003. But he was forced to resign after a remark he made about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb touched off controversy: "The media has been very desirous that a Black quarterback do well …There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn't deserve. The defense carried this team," Limbaugh said at the time.

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Several players opposed Limbaugh's bid as well, including Mathias Kiwanuka (Giants), Bart Scott (Jets) and Justin Tuck (Giants).

Defensive end Kiwanuka said to The New York Daily News: "He can do whatever he wants. It is a free country. But if it goes through, I can tell you where I am not going to play. I am not going to draw a conclusion from a person off of one comment, but when it is time after time after time and there's a consistent pattern of disrespect and just a complete misunderstanding of an entire culture that I am a part of, I can't respect him as a man."

Former NFL tackle Roman Oben said in The Washington Post: "In a league of professional athletes who are mostly African American and come from humble backgrounds, a Limbaugh-owned Rams team would neither elicit the warmest reception by the players in the locker room, nor would it attract the free agent who is weighing options on his NFL future."

In the NFL, 67 percent of the players were Black in the 2008 season, according to a report by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida. The NFL has made great strides in hiring Black head coaches as well. In the 2009 season, 27 percent of the new head coaches were Black.

A Move to Prevent Conservative Mainstreaming—or a Business Decision?

If the deal had gone through, how would have St. Louis Rams sponsors, such as American Airlines, McDonald's and Energizer and new NFL sponsors U.S. National Guard, Gillette and restaurant chain IHOP reacted?

Consider how advertisers have reacted to FOX's "Glenn Beck Program." According to Color of Change, 62 advertisers have decided to pull spots on Beck's show since this past summer after he called President Obama a racist with "a deep-seeded hatred for white people." Beck also said: "I'm not saying he doesn't like white people, I'm saying he has a problem. This guy is, I believe, a racist."

The pull-out began with Procter & Gamble (No. 11 on The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity^® list), followed by General Mills (No. 47 in the DiversityInc Top 50, Kraft Foods (one of DiversityInc's 25 Noteworthy Companies), SC Johnson (No. 46 in the DiversityInc Top 50), Walmart and other companies.

Although the Checketts group will move forward on the bid without Limbaugh, other buyers are interested in the team, including Black businessmen Donald Watkins and Dave Steward, reports ESPN.

For in-depth research on inclusive internal and external organizational communications, visit DiversityIncBestPractices.com.