Yeah; I heard about the little Kanye West stunt that was done during the Red Cross celebrity fundraiser on NBC.  And I definitely thought it was not only inappropriate given the fact that the Red Cross is not a political organization and was trying to do all they could to help, but West was terribly misinformed about what was truly going on there, especially with the internet consipiracy theory that the media simply depicts white people as finding and black people as looting.

But today Michelle Malkin reminded me on her blog that West is supposed to be a part of the opening night festivities for the NFL's regular season.  This will be broadcast on ABC in front of a national audience.  That's why the NFL would be well advised to boot West off the show.

This isn't a punishment for what he did on NBC.  ABC and the NFL would be well within their rights to tell Kanye he is no longer needed for the show, and I don't think I'm overreacting by saying they're obligated to do so.  The NFL should not give West a platform in which to turn a performance during an NFL event into a virtual political soapbox.  West has shown several times - the Red Cross, LiveAid, a recent meltdown at a Toronto radio station (Quicktime video here), the American Music Awards speech, and several others - that he will turn his appearance into what HE wants it to be rather than what the original objective was.

The NFL was burned two years ago when Janet decided to flash millions of people watching the Super Bowl.  Tagliabue needs to wake up before another non-football spectacle gives them negative press again, and on the heels of last weekend's fundraiser, he can't say he hasn't been warned about West's grandstanding.

Football fans deserve to keep the focus on football, not on some self-righteous, spotlight grabbing celebrity.  If West wants to do political rants, tell him to do it on his own time, and at his own concerts.  It shouldn't be done when people are trying to ring in the new football season.  Hence, get rid of him.