Imus Unplugged

For spending about a minute making some racially charged and generally insensitive remarks about the Rutgers women's basketball team on his radio show last week, talk host Don Imus publicly apologized and accepted like a man his two-week suspension from the program.

Then, once the media blew this thing up, the old white men in suits got involved.

Rutgers responded six days later with a 90-minute -- I repeat, 90-minute -- news conference Tuesday morning, aired live in its entirety on at least one cable network.

Often times what disgusts me just as much as disgusting acts are the disgusting reactions that follow. Certainly Imus' comments are unforgivable. I don't expect anyone to say they were right on. But a Rutgers official -- either the athletic director or the university president -- turned it into a PR carnival Tuesday with stiff, manufactured comments like "the real story here is the wonderful season that the 2006-07 Rutgers women's basketball team had."

Rutgers' season was noteworthy indeed. The Scarlet Knights advanced to the national championshp game, where it lost just last week to the sport's closest thing to a dynasty, the Tennessee Lady Volunteers.

Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer reacted honestly to Imus' "nappy-headed hoes" comments, among others, as did several of her players.

And the first player to speak was one of only two white girls on the squad, no doubt an orchestrated move to show the cameras that all members of the team are to be treated equally, and that each was offended equally.

What's more offensive -- and it takes a lot to offend me -- is how the old white man in the suit spoke into the microphone as if he knows or cares much about these players. R2D2 could have sounded more human than the official when he said of one of the team's top players, "Essence is also an accomplished violin player." Really? Well done on that quick read of the media guide this morning, tough guy. His public-speaking skills are so bad that President Bush laughs at him.

Now be sure to pay close attention to the reactionary criers as this thing drags on and gets bigger, and it definitely will. As soon as you think you're done hearing about this, Imus will then return to work on Monday, April 30, and the firestorm will return, and the story of that week will be whether the two-week suspension was punishment enough. Al Sharpton and others say Imus should resign if CBS Radio doesn't fire him first.

The common rebuttal I heard to that logic today was that rappers, like Imus, are paid to entertain. Imus, like rappers, made derogatory comments in his particular forum about black women one time. Imus, like rappers, is not an elected official. He's paid to be controversial and stir up ratings. It's called "shock-radio" for a reason. And you, like me, have the right to turn it off just as you have the option not to buy CDs that contain offensive lyrics, rap or otherwise.

I'm a big believer in second chances in both the professional world and in personal relationships. And it's funny how on the same day that the NFL doled out harsh suspensions to two of its problem children, they were just that -- suspensions. Pacman Jones and Chris Henry will be able to return to work despite their numerous crimes, actual illegal acts that had far more potential to cause physical harm to other, innocent people.

Don Imus, who is merely a radio hack and nothing else, just used awful judgment one day and made some stupid comments. He will soon serve his punishment and then return to work, and will forever -- and I mean forever -- be remembered for this one week of his life, and not for any of his professional accomplishments. If it were me, that would be punishment enough.

I really don't care if he gets fired or keeps his job. It's time people quit their whining about the actions of other people when those actions have no direct effect on your own life. It's just conversation, and this one should be over. You're welcome to get back to your own lives at any time now.