Posted on 08/14/2007 7:47:15 PM PDT by MindBender26
Don Imus is facing his first lawsuit from a player on the Rutgers Women's Basketball team.
Kia Vaughn, star center for the Rutgers Women's Basketball team, has filed a lawsuit against Imus for libel, slander and defamation. Vaughn is asking for monetary damages of an unspecified amount.
"This is a lawsuit in order to restore the good name and reputation of my client, Kia Vaughn," said her attorney, Richard Ancowitz, in an exclusive interview with the ABC News Law & Justice Unit.
Today's suit refers to terms used by Imus April 4 -- including referring to women on the team as "nappy headed" -- as "debasing, demeaning, humiliating, and denigrating" to Vaughn and her fellow players. "There's no way these bigoted remarks should have seen the light of day," Ancowitz told ABC News.
"Don Imus referred to my client as an unchaste woman. That was and is a lie."
The lawsuit alleges that use of the slanderous terms was intentional and motivated by greed and financial gain: In using insults against otherwise innocent people, Imus would get higher ratings, making more money for him and his employers. Among other infractions, the suit alleges that Imus violated the players' civil rights.
Imus could be back to broadcasting as early as January. That, said Ancowitz, rewards Imus while leaving little justice for the women of the Rutgers basketball team.
"He's come out smelling like quite the rose. But what about these young women? How does Imus' victory affect their self-esteem? Where do they go to get their reputations back?"
Vaughn's lawyer said that some of the money from any damages awarded in the lawsuit would be used to create a scholarship program to study the effects of bigoted and misogynistic speech on society.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
1. Plaintiff would have to show actual monetary damages to receive a monetary award. She cannot show such damages. You can't recover for hurt feelings.
2. "Ho" has multiple meanings in popular Black culture, including whore, woman, girl, girlfriend, wife, former wife, etc. Imus only has to prove truth of one such definition as it applies to her. This kills the "slander per-se" argument.
3. Plaintiff is undoubtably a "public person." She would have to show actual malice, show proof that Imus made remark with intent to damage her. She cannot, by a long shot.
4. Program is filled with satire and as such saterical comments are protected. Did anyone really think Imus was calling any of these women a "whore", a prostitute. Has anyone actually seriously offered her money or something of value for a sex act solely as a result of Imus' comments.
It's all BS. Lawyers looking for a little publicity, perhaps a fright settlement.
They are just hoping Don will settle quickly by giving them their fair share of his $20M settlement. After all, without them, he’d still have to work for it ;-)
So if she wins a few bucks or even gets a settlement to go away, does this mean whites can sue rappers for calling us crackers and whatever else God awful names they use?
I thought not.
Thanks to John Edwards type lawyers we are becoming a nation of pansies. Coffee too hot? Sue. Dry cleaning lost? Sue. Somebody hurts your feelings? Sue.
Stepping down from the moral highground, all for the cashish.
I thought Imus said “Happy Headed Mo”
And so it begins ! This country has gone absolutely nuts !
Yeah, it has nothing to do with him making money.
She might also be asked what she has been called on the basketball court and why she didn’t sue for defamation.
This story was already posted a long time ago man.
We’re about to find out how much she thinks her name is worth.
>>>>This story was already posted a long time ago man.
Since it was an exclusive ABC story dated today, I doubt it.
Girl fight!
I was unaware of Kia Vaughn’s name until her lawyer publicized it; Imus never mentioned any of the players by name. The lawyer has done more to harm her reputation than Don Imus ever did.
Don Imus reportedly replied to the news of this lawsuit by saying:
“Well, it took the nappy-headed ho long enough to figure out that she might get some money out of this deal?”
One word: Who?
“Stepping down from the moral highground, all for the cashish.”
Yep, they were looking like a pretty class act until this move. In a way it’s not too surprising, but it’s very disappointing.
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