Sharpton, NAHJ President, Columnists Add Voices
“Unimpressed by his on-air apology or corporate promises of a tighter leash, angry critics of nationally syndicated radio host Don Imus called Saturday for his dismissal over his racially charged comments about the mostly black Rutgers women’s basketball team,” Larry McShane wrote Saturday for the Associated Press.
|
|
|
|
“‘I accept his apology, just as I want his bosses to accept his resignation,’ said the Rev. Al Sharpton. He promised to picket Imus’ New York radio home, WFAN-AM, unless the veteran of nearly 40 years of anything-goes broadcasting is gone within a week,” the AP story continued.
At least five newspaper columnists, the president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and Angela Burt-Murray, editor of Essence magazine, also spoke out.
Rafael Olmeda, president of the Hispanic journalists association, told Journal-isms:
“I find Imus’s comment beyond reprehensible and agree with my colleague Bryan Monroe,” president of the National Association of Black Journalists, “that Imus has gone too far too many times for a lukewarm apology to be sufficient. In all the times I’ve personally spoken out about offensive comments made by commentators, so-called humorists and journalists, I have never advocated for someone to lose his or her job. Until now.
“Imus has freedom of speech. His employers have freedom of association, and if they continue to associate themselves with his patently offensive comments, they show that they are more concerned with ratings and publicity than they are with race relations and the quality of public discourse. Enough is enough. Can him.”
Burt-Murray called on Imus’ bosses to take a harder stance over what she called Imus’ “unacceptable” remarks. “It needs to be made clear that this type of behavior is offensive and will not be tolerated without severe consequences,” the Essence editor said in a statement.
The Detroit branch of the NAACP also weighed in Saturday, with a statement titled, “Imus in the Morning Must Go This Afternoon.”
Pieces by opinion writers began to appear Saturday. Under the headline, “Imus spews hate, should be fired,” sports columnist Filip Bondy of the New York Daily News wrote that day:
“He should be axed for one of the most despicable comments ever uttered on the air. If [Rush] Limbaugh can be dumped by ESPN for an ill-informed opinion about Donovan McNabb, if [Sid] Rosenberg can be dropped by WFAN for his vile comments about Kylie Minogue’s battle with breast cancer, then Imus deserves the same treatment, despite his status.”
The AP’s McShane explained, “Recent controversies involving Imus focused on a member of his morning team, Sid Rosenberg, who was fired two years ago after a particularly vile crack about cancer-stricken singer Kylie Minogue. Before that, a racially tinged comment by Rosenberg about Venus and Serena Williams stirred another controversy.” In 2001, Rosenberg called tennis player Venus Williams an “animal” and said she and her sister, Serena, had a better chance of posing nude for National Geographic than Playboy.
In the Philadelphia Inquirer, Phil Sheridan wrote on Saturday:
“Take the racism out and the remarks are merely unnecessary and cruel. . . . it is important to pin the hate-speech tail on the donkeys here. No aspiring presidential candidate or Beltway insider who goes on Imus’ show in the future should be able to pretend ignorance of this episode. If a U.S. Senator or political pundit wants to share the air with Imus, let it be clear what poison is in that air.”
“For years, black women have been stereotyped as either unattractive ‘mammys’ or sex-starved ‘jezebels,'” Shannon J. Owens wrote Saturday in the Orlando Sentinel. “The truth is that black women, like any other race, represent a full spectrum of personalities, and Imus’ comments draw us into an archaic, suffocating box.
“Imus’ words were atrocious. The lack of national outcry? That’s an abomination.”
In his Sunday column, the Inquirer’s Stephen A. Smith quoted filmmaker Spike Lee: “I think a lot of times we forget . . . the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was not that long ago. My grandmother lived to be 100 years old. Her mother was born a slave. We’re not that far removed from what we would call ancient history.
“We see Michael Jordan, Oprah and a few others, and we think everything’s all right. It’s not all right. People need to wake up, especially when we see or hear stuff like this.” Rutgers women’s basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer’s pastor, the Rev. DeForest B. Soaries Jr. of the 7,000-member First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset, N.J., a former New Jersey secretary of state, also called Sunday for Imus’ firing. Otherwise, he said, CBS Radio and MSNBC should be boycotted.
Smith’s Inquirer column again quoted filmmaker Lee, whose line about “jigaboos and wannabes” the Imus insult appropriated.
Imus doesn’t “know what I was talking about with ‘School Daze,’ and it’s evident with unfortunate comments like that. They’ll probably have bigger ratings next week because of it, too,” Lee said.
“It’s decision time for his employers,” Monte Poole wrote in the Oakland Tribune on Sunday.
“They can fire him and his crew, making a statement against bigotry â?? at the risk of hypocrisy.
“They can keep them, making a statement about themselves.”
Poole’s column was headlined, “Eddie Robinson is turning over in his grave,” a reference to the legendary Grambling State University coach who died a day before Imus made his comments.
McShane’s story continued, “On Friday, after Imus delivered an on-air apology, both WFAN and MSNBC condemned his remarks. WFAN issued a statement promising to “monitor the program’s content” but Imus, a member of the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame, was not publicly disciplined.”
Monroe appeared on Saturday on CNN and Barbara Ciara, the association’s vice president-broadcast, appeared Friday. More media appearances were planned. NABJ called for Imus to be fired by Monday.
McShane’s story gave more background:
“The Rutgers team, which includes eight black women, lost the NCAA women’s championship game Tuesday to Tennessee, and Imus was discussing the game with producer Bernard McGuirk.
“‘That’s some rough girls from Rutgers,’ Imus said. “Man, they got tattoos . . .’
“‘Some hardcore hos,’ said McGuirk.
“‘That’s some nappy headed hos there, I’m going to tell you that,’ Imus said.
“Karen Mateo, a spokeswoman for WFAN’s parent company CBS Radio, said Saturday there was no additional comment on the Imus situation.
“Sharpton said he was writing to the Federal Communications Commission about Imus’ remarks.
“‘This is not some unemployed comic like Michael Richards,’ Sharpton said, referring to the ‘Seinfeld’ actor who used the N-word and referred to lynching in a rant last year. ‘This is an established figure, allowed to use the airwaves for sexist and racist remarks.'”
Jessica Heslam reported Saturday in the Boston Herald that Phil Redo, vice president and market manager for Greater Media Boston, which owns WTKK, said the Boston station hadn’t received any complaints.
“I can’t defend it because it’s indefensible,” Redo said of Imus’ remarks in Heslam’s story. “I’m glad that he apologized and he should have. It was a stupid comment. It was a terrible thing to say.”
“Former Bay State governor and presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has ‘yukked it up on Imus’ radio show and has at least one of his Imus appearances posted on his campaign Web site. A Romney spokesman did not return requests for comment. Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry has also appeared on Imus’ show. ‘It was a stupid comment and we’re glad that Imus has admitted that,’ said Kerry spokeswoman Brigid O’Rourke.”
The conservative Washington Times editorialized Saturday, “For falling in line behind Mr. McGuirk and sounding like a gangster rapper, Don Imus is the Knave of the Week.”
- Stacy Parker Aab, Huffington Post: Trying to Explain to My Mother Why Don Imus Still Has a Job
- David Carr, New York Times: Networks Condemn Remarks by Imus
- George E. Curry, syndicated: Basketball Players are not â??Nappy-headed Hoâ??s’
- Jemele Hill, ESPN.com: Imus Should Be Fired
- Mark Lelinwalla and Matt Gagne, New York Daily News: Lady Knights Have Last Laugh at Imus
- Kim Pearson blog: What should be done about Don Imus?
- Bob Raissman, New York Daily News: CBS’ call on Don hinges on dollars not sense
- Don Singleton, New York Daily News: Imus can’t dribble around this flagrant, racist foul
- Robert Smith, “All Things Considered,” National Public Radio: Groups Reject Imus Apology for Rutgers Remarks
- NABJ Sports Task Force
