Don Imus
On this date in 2007, white-American radio personality Don Imus used racist and sexist statements toward Black women on his show.
Imus made remarks during his show describing the Rutgers University women’s basketball team. The team includes eight Black women who had lost the day before in the NCAA women's championship game. Imus spoke with producer Bernard McGuirk about the game when the exchange began on "Imus in the Morning," which is broadcast to millions of people on more than 70 stations and MSNBC.
The remarks were as follows: "That's some rough girls from Rutgers," Imus said. "Man, they got tattoos..." "Some hardcore hos," McGuirk said. "That's some nappy-headed hos there, I'm going to tell you that," Imus said. Later in the week, calling himself a good person who said a bad thing, Imus said, “Here's what I've learned: that you can't make fun of everybody because some people don't deserve it," "And because the climate on this program has been what it's been for 30 years doesn't mean it's going to be what it's been for the next five years or whatever."
He pointed to his involvement with the Imus Ranch, a cattle farm for children with cancer and blood disorders in Ribera, N.M. He added that ten percent of the children who come to the ranch are Black. He added, “I'm not a white man who doesn't know any African Americans.” Imus said he hoped to meet the Rutgers players and their parents and coaches, and he said he was grateful that he was scheduled to appear on a radio show hosted by the Reverend Al Sharpton, who has called for Imus to be fired over the remarks. Jesse Jackson planned a protest in Chicago, and an NAACP official called for the broadcaster's resignation or firing.
Don Imus was fired from CBS on April 12, 2006.
