Posted on 04/06/2007 4:59:26 PM PDT by kellynla
Syndicated talk-radio personality Don Imus apologized Friday for calling members of the Rutgers University women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos" during a segment yesterday in his "Imus in the Morning" show.
Imus and his producer and on-air sidekick, Bernard McGuirk, went on to further attack the black members of the team, calling them "jigaboos and wannabees."
In his apology, Imus called his comments "insensitive and ill-conceived."
"It was completely inappropriate, and we can understand why people were offended," he told listeners at the opening of his broadcast Friday morning.
He further called the comments "thoughtless and stupid" and said, "We're sorry."
The apology came after Imus initially brushed aside criticism, telling The New York Times "not to worry about some idiot saying something meant to be amusing."
Rutgers officials issued this statement: "We agree with Mr. Imus that this was, in his own words, an 'idiot comment.' We are very proud of the success of the Rutgers women's basketball team. Coach Stringer and the Rutgers players are outstanding ambassadors for this great institution."
Shortly after Imus made his comments about the Rutgers team, MSNBC released the following statement: "While simulcast by MSNBC, 'Imus in the Morning' is not a production of the cable network and is produced by WFAN Radio. As Imus makes clear every day, his views are not those of MSNBC. We regret that his remarks were aired on MSNBC and apologize for these offensive comments."
The comments drew immediate outrage from the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), which had called for a boycott of Imus' show until he issued a "sincere and unequivocal apology," referring to him as a "sophomoric host."
"Has he lost his mind?" asked NABJ President Bryan Monroe, vice president and editorial director for Ebony and Jet magazines in Chicago.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
“I always thought that they were lesbians, not nappy-headed hos. Live and learn...”
Do you feel that way about all woman college bb players or just Rutgers?
Totally true comment...
I agree. I think that the mainstream media will go easy on Imus because he calls Cheney a 'war criminal' on a daily basis.
“Just because Imus was in the Marine Corps doesn’t give him the right to make bigoted remarks.”
He was in the band.
Rush replied "I do Peter and always have but I will try to do better if you wont point out the color of every QB in the league and base you're criticisms on that."
If you had watched “Around the Horn” on ESPN last week, which is a talk/debate sports program, there were three sportswriters who just so happened to be black; did NOT give Imus a pass.
In fact, they called Imus exactly what he is...a bigot and proceeded to rake him over the coals.
Sorry, gonna leave you guessing on that one. Try not to let it stress you out too much...
Oh I won’t spend to much time guessing about it.
I know some really awesome women’s college basketball players from a top 20 womens team Div 1 team. They are are very attractive young ladies and anything but lesbians.
I have also seen some teams who have players who look like guys.
I am not familiar with the Rutgers players.
I do like the sport of womens basketball overall.
“Thanks for the explanation. Somehow, most news outlets failed to explain the comment, and it did seem absurdly mean without hearing about the movie reference.”
Whether the news outlets explained the movie reference or not, there was no reason for Imus’ sidekick to make that comparison. Also, Imus still refered to these young women as nappy-headed hos. That’s just plain mean-spirited and inappropriate. This man has lost his mind, if he ever had one to begin with.
Imus is revealed here, for those who didn’t already know, as a bigot and a jerk. He deserves to lose his job over this.
I don’t like the Rutgers women’s basketball team myself, despite their basketball skill, because of their unsportsmanlike conduct (in the key tournament win againt Duke, the only reason they won is that a Duke player missed 2 free throws with 0.1 seconds left because the Rutgers players heckled and insulted her — if she had made both, Duke would have won the game by 1 point).
But what Imus said about them is completely unacceptable and he deserves to be involuntarily retired.
The black sportswriters didn't give Imus a pass, but will they go berserk until somebody fires him?
I check in on Imus's show everyday. He voted for Bill Clinton and John Kerry. He calls George Bush "stupid" and Cheney a "pork-chop sucking war criminal." His regular guests are liberals like Tim Russert, Chris Matthews, Sen. Chris Dodd, Jonathan Alter, Paul Begala, Andrea Mitchell, Howard Fineman, David Gregory, and he loves Harold Ford Jr. etc.
The only reason the mainstream media has to get rid of Imus is that he calls Hillary "Satan."
“Also, Imus still refered to these young women as nappy-headed hos.”
Yes, I agree it’s a bad comment. But at least for me the reference to the movie brought a little more explanation instead of just being totally off-the-wall comments.
Though like you I also think the comments are mean-spirited, is this a question of free speech?
Free Speech is one thing. Two standards in the media is another. If he was a Bush Supporter, he would be fired. I doubt MSNBC will do anything due to very low ratings. This is the most attention the network has had in some time. Below is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF9BjB7Bzr0
I agree there is a different standard in the media for conservatives.
But I’m thinking of this country and our right to free speech. Every time that right is in danger of being lost should be a concern, whether it be concerning conservatives or liberals.
Again, I do think the comment is mean-spirited. But we are allowed to speak our minds in this country— unless it causes a physical danger to the public (like screaming “fire” and causing panic when there is no fire).
I hate to see this country’s freedoms chipped away.
In this situation, Imus does have the right to speak his mind, regardless how distasteful his thoughts may be.
If people can no longer speak their minds, then they turn into a nation of controlled robots—or an oppressed people as in the novel “1984.”
“Again, I do think the comment is mean-spirited. But we are allowed to speak our minds in this country— unless it causes a physical danger to the public (like screaming “fire” and causing panic when there is no fire).
I hate to see this country’s freedoms chipped away.
In this situation, Imus does have the right to speak his mind, regardless how distasteful his thoughts may be.
If people can no longer speak their minds, then they turn into a nation of controlled robots—or an oppressed people as in the novel “1984.””
I think most people would agree he has a right to speak his mind, just like others have the right to criticize him for his inapproriate remarks.
I agree. People have the right to criticize his remarks. I myself criticized them.
But when people become afraid to speak their minds openly, then we will have another form of oppression similar to Nazi-Germany.
That’s one thing I admired about many of my parent’s generation—they spoke their minds. Honest thoughts...nothing faked or forced or scripted. Just said what they thought.
It’s getting rarer by the day.
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