Essay 1963

From DiversityInc.com…

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‘Nappy-Headed Hos’: Don Imus Apologizes for Slur Aimed at Rutgers Team

By Aysha Hussain

Don Imus has apologized—and has put his apology at the top of his web site—for calling the Rutgers women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos" after they lost in the NCAA finals.

Just when it didn’t seem possible, Imus, host of MSNBC’s “Imus in the Morning,” managed to reach a new low. While discussing the NCAA women’s basketball game between Rutgers University and the University of Tennessee, Imus openly described the Rutgers team, which has eight black and two white women on it, as “nappy-headed hos” after the show’s producer, Bernard McGuirk, called the team “hardcore hos.”

This all happened Thursday morning during an on-air discussion between Imus and three others, including McGuirk, that was filled with both sexist and racist commentary. Other comments added to the thread included a characterization of Rutgers’ black team members as “jigaboos and wannabees,” a reference from the 1988 film “School Daze” written and directed by Spike Lee.

MSNBC tried to distance itself by issuing a statement late Thursday night, declaring Imus’ comments not its responsibility but admitting that the comments were offensive.

“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,” MSNBC’s statement said.

What about Imus’ apology? On his web site, he has placed this apology prominently in the upper-right-hand corner: “[I] want to take a moment to apologize for an insensitive and ill-conceived remark we made the other morning regarding the Rutgers women’s basketball team. It was completely inappropriate, and we can understand why people were offended. Our characterization was thoughtless and stupid, and we are sorry.”

In an interview with The New York Times, Imus said people should relax and “not worry about some idiot saying something meant to be amusing.” But the disrespectful and degrading comments made by Imus and others neither relaxed nor eased listeners. Instead, they spawned an immediate response from Rutgers University, stating: “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 (Vivian) Stringer and the Rutgers players are outstanding ambassadors for this great institution.”

The show, which is produced by New York City’s WFAN radio station and syndicated by Westwood One, did not provide any statements. The show reaches an estimated 3.5 million listeners each week, according to Arbitron, a radio-audience research company.

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.