So I had wanted to post about this mess with Don Imus and his comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team but I didn't get a chance to yesterday and I had a feeling that one of my other blogger compatriots would get to the subject before I did --- and it happened. Bygbaby has done a great job of summarizing and quoting the comments by and about Don Imus in the past week in his post from April 8th. I know that when I first heard that something was said about the team and that they were called "hardcore hos" and nappy-headed hos" I was annoyed but not as offended as when I heard the entire conversation and all the comments that Imus made. As Bygbaby, mentioned he did go as far as comparing the Rutgers and Tennessee women's teams to the "Jigaboos" and "Wannabes" from Spike Lee's School Daze but he did additionally talk about all the tattoos on the Rutgers women and also went on to contrast to how the Tennessee women were "so cute." So now I am pissed......
The Backlash
So, initially, Imus has gotten a two-week suspension however, it won't start until Monday. And there has started to be some other public backlash, albeit small...... Cal Ripken, Hall of Fame Baltimore Orioles baseball player, declined to fulfill his appearance on the show scheduled for this week in light of these comments. (It is also worth noting that John McCain, Republican Presidential Candidate, said that an apology was good enough for him and has decided to still come on the Imus show as planned. He's not the one who needs the apology!!! Is this the kind of sensitivity you want in a president???) Staples & P&G have canceled their advertising on his radio show and MSNBC just announced that they will cancel the TV simulcast of his radio show in light of his comments. Barack Obama has called for Imus' firing and C. Vivian Stringer, the coach of the Rutgers women team, held a dignified press conference on the matter and the team has agreed to meet with Imus on the matter. But what I keep wondering is how come the NCAA has not come out to comments on these comments made about their players??? I would expect them to at least issue some statement taking about about how they don't support derogatory comments made about college athletes etc...... What signal is that sending about how it supports its athletes? And what about Pat Summit? Shouldn't she be making some comment in support of their rival team and the coach who has been a good friend of hers for 30 years??? Well, I suspect more reaction is yet to come but I am disappointed that it so slow in coming.....
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In an example of exactly why Imus' comments should not be taken lightly and should be approached with the appropriate consequences, a DJ in Allentown, PA thought it would be cute to make the phrase in his station's "Phrase that Pays" contest on Tuesday, you guessed it, "I'm a nappy-headed ho!" Three of the listeners who called were awarded tickets to a NASCAR promotion at a local club. Nice, huh? He was subsequently fired, with the justification that "he uttered the slur in a premeditated manner, 'with full knowledge of the reaction to Don Imus' use of the exact same phrase.'"
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2 comments:
Imus isn't clean or articulate.
i am so out of the loop with the mainstream media that i had not even heard of imus until this controversy errupted. the world always beckons me to take notice and take action. it would/will be somewhat satisfying to see him go but really he is just a symptom, not even close to the underlying pathology. got cure?
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