The
National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) are outraged at a number of crude
comments made by WFAN radio personality Don Imus, regarding Rutgers University’s
women’s basketball team. During
a radio interview on his simulcasted radio show on MSNBC, Imus referred to athletes
of the basketball team as “nappy-headed ho’s” and "jiggaboos,"
after they lost the NCAA championship to the University of Tennessee. “Has
he lost his mind?" asked NABJ President Bryan Monroe in a statement. "Those
comments were beyond offensive. Imus needs to be fired. Today.""As
NABJ strives to dispel stereotypes and promote accurate portrayals of minorities
in the media, we find this characterization of these young black women offensive
and hateful," said Barbara Ciara, NABJ vice president/broadcast in a statement.
NABJ
and numerous others are seeking a public apology from Imus and others hope to
see Imus terminated. It
is unlikely that Imus will be fired as a result of the remarks, but he did make
a public apology on his Imus In The Morning show yesterday [Apr. 6]. Imus
referred to his crude remarks as “insensitive and ill-conceived” and
believed that his comments were, “completely inappropriate."We
can understand why people were offended," Imus said.
