The slur from Imus

UPDATE: Click for some live blogging on Monday.

2nd UPDATE: NBC News suspends Imus for two weeks.

3rd update: CBS fires Imus.

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Phil Sheridan of The Philadelphia Inquirer nails it:

"The Rutgers women's basketball team - coached by C. Vivian Stringer, one of the classiest acts in all of sports - reached the Final Four, played earlier this week in Cleveland. The Scarlet Knights beat Louisiana State for the right to play powerhouse Tennessee in the final.

Months after Greg Schiano's football team established itself on the national scene, the women's basketball team brought more positive attention to Rutgers athletics. Within days, the team's members are slurred on national TV and their university president and the NCAA are issuing joint statements in their defense.

Imus brought this up specifically to sneer at the physical appearance of the Rutgers women, calling them "nappy-headed hos" in stark contrast to the "cute" Tennessee players. What kind of man feels the need to heap scorn on young women who play college basketball? Take the racism out and the remarks are merely unnecessary and cruel."

And C. Vivian Stringer demonstrates the power of character in her statement. Here's an excerpt:

"To serve as a joke of Mr. Imus in such an insensitive manner creates a wedge and makes light of the efforts of these classy individuals, both as women and as women of color.  It is unfortunate Mr. Imus sought to tarnish Rutgers' spirit and success. Should we not, as adults, send a message of encouragement to young people to aspire to the highest levels as my team did this season?

"It is of the utmost importance to be an inspiration to young people and I truly believe my team represented Rutgers University, the state of New Jersey, and NCAA student-athletes across the country in the highest manner. I am proud of these young women and strongly encourage Mr. Imus to instead read the headlines and the stories that told of our triumphs the past six months."

NABJ has its say (hat tip to MultiCultClassics): "Bryan Monroe, president of the National Association of Black Journalists, said Imus should be fired. “Those comments were beyond offensive,” said Monroe on the NABJ web site."

There is support for Rutgers from UT fans, too. Here's an example, from Poster Girl: "I hate to give the guy publicity for a series of stupid comments, but, I think it's important that we all take note of the bigotry that still exists in our country today (and the microphones available to particular bigots). For a long time, I have hated that MSNBC airs Imus' show each morning, and now I think I might have to write a letter expressing my supreme disdain for their support of Mr. Imus.

I don't care if my team won by 13 points the other night. Coach C. Vivian Stringer and the Lady Scarlet Knights are to be respected and admired for their efforts. They are not to be insulted or slandered because of their race or ethnicity."

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Comments

[Baysharam]

I've had bowel movements with more character than Daun Imus

[BrianNYC]

Don Imus has proven himself to be not only a racist/biggot, but a hypocrite as well - for he has accused others as being "racists" for far lesser comments in the past.

[Ron Hardin]

Are women such sensitive flowers that you can't call them ugly or man-like on a radio show? So much for feminism.

Racism hasn't got anything to do with it; he's simply not going along with the soap opera news story line.

The cowardice of WFAN and MSNBC, in even reacting to this contrived stink, is shameful.

In the larger scheme of things, nobody cares about your basketball team. Nor should it be otherwise.

[DADvocate]

I've been a Lady Vols fan since day 1. Rutgers players conducted themselves with class in every way during the NCCA tournament, unlike Imus.

Why people like Imus and Ron above have to denigrate the work and effort these players put in day after day for years is beyond me. Congratulations on a great season.

[Ron Hardin]

Many people don't follow basketball. In fact most people don't.

On Imus's sports, he gives rodeo scores, to make a joke of the score-presenting movement. The fiction is that the audience should care about it, and the joke is acknowledging that they don't. It's a media pretend game, for their soap opera news demographic.

One way to wobble the sports-format fiction is to call the players ugly. There's scoring that wasn't contemplated in the official story line! That's what it was.

Now, college basketball already trades on this media coverage, and so is fair game for ridicule, along with everybody else.

Removing all the masks, the nearest I can some to the actual situation is :

The women's response should have been that we're not trying to be pretty, we're trying to be good at basketball.

And the Imus response is that mostly people don't care about your hobby, so don't expect them to.

Then everybody is happy.

That MSNBC and WFAN go all nervous about racism is shameful. Take the matter to your university Lit Crit 101 professors and have them analyze the joke for you. The real sin is getting wrong what is going on, and then trying to trade on the mistake.

Audio by the way, of clips from Wed Wed Thurs Fri http://rhhardin.home.mindspring.com/imuscut.rutgersapology.ram (four cuts run together, real audio) ; and a little cut from Friday showing the intimidation going on at WFAN http://rhhardin.home.mindspring.com/imuscut.rutgersapology2.ram , wherein McGuirk says that it's brilliant programming to put the Cardinal on instead of McGuirk's impression of New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. A little inside baseball there, about the easy racism charge and management's terror of it. Why Imus doesn't tell management to either fire him or shut up and let him do the show, I don't know.

[Doustoi]

I think it is only fitting that Imus, who regularly calls Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld 'war criminals' is now being labeled a racist. Fire him - but not for political correctness; can him for being unfunny, a whiney bore, a self-congratulator, and for having shitty taste in music.

[Jack]

Imus is a jerk. In this case, he's also correct. The Rutgers players look like hoodlums and skanks.

Imus' lack of tact aside, how is it that he is a racist for what he said? Did he not also say the UT players are cute? Are not most of UT's players black, er, "players of color" as well? This whole silly controversy reminds me of the idiots who get upset anytime some person of pallor uses the (perfectly legitimate) word, "niggardly." Sensitivities run amok, I tell you.