Rush Limbaugh’s resignation as a commentator for ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown” television program after only three weeks is being hailed as victory by almost every fair-minded person east of the Atlantic Ocean. The NAACP and the National Football League (NFL) are almost locking arms and singing, “We Shall Overcome.”

However, I don’t see Limbaugh’s exit as a victory. It would have been a victory if he had never been considered for the job. And that, as we all know, wasn’t the case. Not only was the Right-wing reactionary hired by Disney-owned ESPN, he was a finalist three years ago for a spot on another Disney-owned program, ABC’s “Monday Night Football,” a job that eventually went to comedian Dennis Miller and, later, John Madden.

The fact that ESPN put Limbaugh on the air, knowing his long record of racial insensitivity, is a direct slap in the face of African-Americans. Essentially, it’s as if the Mickey Mouse executives at Walt Disney Co. were saying: “We know that Limbaugh offends Black America, but we don’t care. You’re not important enough for us to value your opinion.” And it does not matter to them that almost 70 percent of the players in the NFL are Black.

Some of us wrote columns critical of the decision to hire Limbaugh but, sadly, most of our civil rights leaders didn’t utter any public criticism until after Limbaugh stuck his big foot into his big mouth with his comment about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.

In case you missed it or have been buried under a rock for the past few weeks, Limbaugh charged that McNabb, an all-pro quarterback, is over rated by the media and that NFL officials are falling over one another trying to see a Black quarterback succeed in the NFL.

The hypocritical ESPN issued a statement saying Limbaugh’s comments were “offensive and inappropriate.” It also announced that it had accepted his resignation.

It was ESPN and its corporate executives who acted in an offensive and inappropriate manner by hiring Limbaugh. The NFL also issued a statement criticizing Limbaugh’s comments, noting that it has nothing to do with a network’s decision to hire talent. If you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you. Ostensibly, the networks do their own hiring but rest assured that no one appears on air for long without league approval.

I am more concerned about the lack of leadership in the Black community on this issue. It’s easy to jump on the bandwagon after Limbaugh has resigned. But where were those same leaders when ESPN first announced that Limbaugh would be joining their lineup? Why didn’t they lead a boycott of the show’s sponsors? If they failed to act because they feared they would be “white-balled” from the TV talk shows, that shouldn’t have mattered; they rarely are on the Sunday morning shows anyway.

Could it be that they are in bed with so many corporate sponsors that they are afraid to lift their voice? Whatever the reason, if they continue down this road, they will quickly render themselves obsolete.

The African-American jocks on the show with Limbaugh were equally useless. And that’s why I resist efforts to have Black athletes and entertainers serve as spokespeople for the race. I would be satisfied if they could just provide insightful sports commentary in their respective sports.

When Limbaugh asserted that the media is “very desirous that a Black quarterback do well,” former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin became uncharacteristically silent.

He later told USAToday, “…I didn’t know what he was saying was out of bounds.”

And it gets worse.

Irvin told columnist Rudy Martzke that he had met with Limbaugh several times and, “I didn’t see any prejudice in Rush.” Where was he looking? Did Irvin expect Limbaugh to parade around with a rebel flag?

Steve Young and Tom Jackson were also silent on the set. Chris Berman, the show’s host, says, “As cut and dry as it seems in print, I didn’t think so when it went by my ears,” Berman told the Associated Press. “I probably should have looked to softened it.”

How about challenging Limbaugh on the facts? It’s a fact that for years, Black quarterbacks were converted to wide receiver or defensive back to prevent them from becoming the star player on the field. It’s a fact that no one is taking it easy on McNabb on or off the field because of his race. It’s a fact that people like Limbaugh will never acknowledge that many Black quarterbacks excel because they are the best player at their position. Nothing more, nothing less.