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Monday, June 23, 2008

Did Don Imus Make Another Racist Blunder?

It's been nine months since controversial radio host, Don Imus, 67, referred to the Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos." I'm sure you're aware of what the aftermath entailed.

All things considered, you'd think Imus would pussyfoot and choose his words more carefully. But once again, he finds himself in the hot seat over dubious comments he made--during his WABC radio show on Monday--about another African-American athlete.

"During his program, conversation turned to a story about how suspended Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones, 24, now wants to drop his well-known nickname. In the course of the segment, Imus is told that Jones has 'been arrested six times since being drafted by Tennessee in 2005.'”

Imus asks: “What color is he?”

“He’s African-American,” the host is informed by one of his on-air sidekicks.

“Well, there you go,” Imus says. “Now we know.”
[Politico]

Is this gaffe number two for Imus? You be the judge. Here's the audio.

In a statement provided to The New York Times, Imus says, ''I meant that he was being picked on because he's black.''

Imus is expected to comment further during his show on Tuesday.

Image via I Want Media.

In case you were living under a rock during gaffe number one...


Update: June 24- As expected, Imus addressed the issue on his radio show this morning.

Excerpt taken from Newsday:

On this morning's "Imus in the Morning" edition, Imus again insisted that his comment had been misconstrued: "Obviously I thought they [the police] were picking on him, so I asked what color he was. Obviously I knew what color he was in order to make a sarcastic point. 'There you go. That's the point.' What people should be outraged about is that they arrest blacks for no reason." He mentioned that he was surrounded by black producers and contributors to the show: "How insane [and] what would I be thinking? Why would I sit here and say, 'Well, there you go.' How do you make that connection?

"My point was, there was no reason to arrest him six times...If he gets arrested six times we know why he gets arrested six times. That's my point."

"After last year," he added, referring to the comment that got him fired from WFAN, "No white man has had more discussion about race relations ... than I have."

Then, after citing a number of black leaders who had been on the show, he told his on-air colleagues, Charles McCord and Warner Wolf, "I know there are some people who want to get me, but this is ridiculous."

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