Nationally syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh said that a November
19 brawl that broke out during a National Basketball Association (
NBA) game was "hip-hop culture on parade." Limbaugh asserted that the fight -- which involved Indiana Pacers team members and Detroit Pistons team members and fans -- was "
gang behavior on parade minus the guns," and that
NBA uniforms are "now in
gang colors. They are in
gang styles." In making the comments, Limbaugh conceded that his remarks were likely to be "tagged as racist." Limbaugh also appeared to compare the brawl to the unrest in Fallujah, Iraq, suggesting that Detroit be renamed "New Fallujah, Michigan."
LIMBAUGH]: "You look at
NBA players and the uniforms, you don't have to go back very far. The uniforms have changed totally. They're now in
gang colors. They are in
gang styles...This is the hip-hop culture on parade. This is
gang behavior on parade minus the guns. That's the culture that the
NBA has become. So if anybody will be honest with you about it in the
NBA, and a very few will have the courage to, because saying what I just said is going to be tagged as racist, but I, my friends, am fearless when it comes to this because the truth will out, and that's what's happening here, and part and parcel of this
gang culture, this hip-hop culture, is: 'I'm not going to tolerate being dissed.'"
CALLER: "This is not a new thing with the Piston fans."
LIMBAUGH: "I know. That's why I say call it 'New Fallujah, Michigan.'"[
