A petition urging UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp to advise Tar Heel Sports Network to cease programming on any radio station that airs Rush Limbaugh’s talk show has gained support in the past week.
The petition is in protest of the conservative commentator’s remarks about Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke. Seven radio stations, including WRDU in Raleigh, air both Tar Heel Sports Network and Limbaugh’s show, according to the petition.
Fluke testified in front of a U.S. House of Representatives committee last month and advocated for the coverage of contraception in all private health insurance plans. In response, Limbaugh called her a “slut” and a “prostitute.”
Bill Friday, former UNC-system president, said the decision whether to drop Tar Heel Sports Network from radio stations is up to University administrators, but the controversy surrounding Limbaugh’s remarks speaks to a broader societal issue.
“What we’ve got to do in this country is go back to civility,” Friday said.
“This issue presents the age-old difficulty of standing for the right of free expression, and then acknowledging there are limitations on that right. The question is where to draw the line, and libel and slander come close to the limitations.”
Rick Steinbacher, associate athletic director for marketing and promotions for the University, said the network and Limbaugh’s show do not have close enough ties to warrant protest and withdrawal from radio stations.
The Tar Heel Sports Network airs on more than 50 affiliate stations. Limbaugh’s program airs on hundreds of stations, a few of which cross over, Steinbacher said.
“The fact that two different programs that use networks to be aired are on a few of the same affiliates does not make them linked,” Steinbacher said.
