CBS Caves To Pressure; Fires Imus

C Goodman

Less than 24 hours after NBC's decision to drop Don Imus from its airwaves, CBS Radio followed suit. Black community leaders, including Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, met with CBS executives earlier today, demanding the company drop the talk show host. Just this morning, Imus was back on his radio show hosting a radio-thon for children's charities. During the program, there were several references to the show possibly being his last broadcast at WFAN. He and his sidekick Charles McCord even jokingly said that they needed to raise "100-million-dollars" this time because it could be their last radio-thon. Imus has been raising the money for different charities over the last 18 years. The funds go to the Tomorrows Children's Fund for kids with cancer, the CJ Foundation for SIDS and the Imus Ranch.WFAN is reporting that Imus' wife Deidre and McCord will take over hosting duties tomorrow morning to continue raising money for the charities.

Rutgers Women Meet The Press

C Goodman

Racist, sexist and deplorable. That's how Rutgers women's basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer described the comments made by radio talk show host Don Imus about members of her team at a news conference this morning. Last week, Imus drew criticism for calling the predominately black team "nappy-headed hos" and said they were some rough looking girls. Imus has since apologized for the offensive remarks, but that's done little to stop calls for his termination from civil rights leaders like the Reverend Al Sharpton.

But the biggest news to come out of the Rutgers press conference was word that team members have agreed to sit down with the broadcasting legend to discuss the comments. Team member Essence Carson said she and the other players were angry and disgusted but would meet with Imus. They stopped short of saying whether they thought he should be fired for calling the team "nappy-headed hos."

The Imus controversy even found its way to the White House today. Spokeswoman Dana Perino was asked if President Bush thought Imus' punishment was strong enough. "The president believed that the apology was the absolute right thing to do. Beyond that, I think that his employer is going to have to make a decision about any action that they take based on it."

No word on when a meeting between Imus and the girls might happen.

Fact Check On Rev. Al Sharpton

With the Reverend Al Sharpton once again putting himself in the middle of another controversy, it's only fair that we point out that the civil rights leader has a history of making offensive and sometimes bigoted remarks. Here's some information from Wikipedia.



Controversies

Tawana Brawley Controversy
See also: Tawana Brawley Case

In the Tawana Brawley case, a 15-year-old black girl was found smeared with feces, lying in a garbage bag, her clothing torn and burned and with various slurs and epithets written on her body in charcoal. Brawley claimed that she had been assaulted and raped by six white men, some of them police officers, in the town of Wappingers Falls, New York.

Alton H. Maddox, C. Vernon Mason joined Sharpton in support of Brawley. A grand jury was convened; after seven months of examining police and medical records, the jury determined that Brawley lied about being assaulted by the police. Sharpton, Maddox and Mason were later successfully sued for statements made in connection with the case, and ordered to pay $345,000 in damages. All three falsely accused the case prosecutor, Steven Pagones, as being among those who abducted and raped Brawley. The jury found Sharpton liable for making seven defamatory statements about Pagones, Maddox for two and Mason for one.

Crown Height Riots

The Crown Heights Riot occurred after a car accident involving the motorcade for the Lubavitcher Rebbe killing a young boy Gavin Cato. A riot was sparked after a private Hasidic ambulance came to the scene and, on the orders of a police officer, removed the Hasidic driver from the scene. Gavin Cato and his cousin Angela were picked up soon after by a city ambulance. Caribbean-American and African-American residents of the neighborhood then rioted for four consecutive days fueled by rumors (in part driven by Sharpton), that the private ambulance had refused to treat Cato.

Al Sharpton became the de-facto representative for the Cato family. During the funeral he referred to "diamond merchants" considered a code word for Hasidic Jews, for shedding "the blood of innocent babies" leading marchers shouting "No Justice No Peace". Sharpton did not start the riots but his rhetoric was seen as inflammatory and unhelpful in easing the tension between the black and Jewish communities. A visiting rabbinical student from Australia by the name of Yankel Rosenbaum, 29 years old, was killed during the rioting by a mob shouting "Kill the Jew".

Freddie's Fashion Mart

It is also alleged that after calling a Jewish shopkeeper a "white interloper," he looked on while an associate of his suggested the man's shop should be burned down. When a black member of the crowd did so, killing several people and himself, Sharpton initially denied having been present. When confronted with a video tape showing his presence, he said: "What's wrong with denouncing white interlopers?"

While Sharpton has every right to call for radio talk show host Don Imus' termination over remarks he made about the Rutgers women's basketball team, Sharpton's record of controversial statements and outlandish behavior shouldn't be forgotten or ignored.

Imus Appears On Sharpton Radio Show

C Goodman

Radio talk show host Don Imus is good at putting other people in the hot seat. But Monday, it was his turn.


He appeared on the Reverend Al Sharpton's radio show to address last week's controversial remarks about the Rutgers women's basketball team. Last Wednesday, Imus described the predominately black team as "nappy-headed hos." Imus later apologized for the remark, but that hasn't stopped Sharpton and others from calling for his resignation.

Before his appearance on Sharpton's show, Imus again addressed the controversy on his nationally-syndicated "Imus in the Morning" broadcast. He described himself as "a good person" who made a bad mistake. He added, "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 that it has to be that way for the next five years or whatever because that has to change, and I understand that."

Imus apologizes on "Imus in the Morning" Monday.




A few hours later, he was in Sharpton's radio studio. The civil rights leader didn't back down in calling for Imus' resignation.

Here's the video.


Meanwhile in Chicago, Rev. Jesse Jackson kept his promise to picket outside NBC's offices there. A small group of protesters marched while carrying signs and shouting that "Imus must go."

MSNBC, which simulcasts Imus' radio show, has called the remarks deplorable. A spokeswoman says the matter is under review. Radio station WFAN maintains that Imus will not be fired.

Sharpton Calls for Imus to be Fired After "Nappy-Headed Ho" Remark

C Goodman

Who didn't see this coming? Rev. Al Sharpton is calling on the powers-that-be to fire radio talk show host and MSNBC personality Don Imus. Earlier this week, the radio vet drew criticism for comments he made about players on the Rutger's women's basketball team after they lost to Tennessee in the NCAA championship game. Imus talked about their physical appearance by describing their tattoos and went on to say the girls were some "nappy-headed hos."
Watch Imus' controversial remark here.

Rutgers was immediately offended calling it an "idiot comment." Imus, on his radio show "Imus in the Morning broadcast on WFAN and simulcast on MSNBC, apologized for the remark first thing Friday. Later in the day, both WFAN and MSNBC management condemned the remark vowing to keep a tighter leash on Imus, who has made his career on politically-incorrect behavior.
Watch Imus' apology here.

But the apologies and condemnations haven't put out the firestorm. Civil rights leader Rev. Sharpton is now calling on Imus to be fired. He said, "I accept his apology, just as I want his bosses to accept his resignation." Sharpton promises to picket outside of Imus' studios in New York until the cowboy hat-wearing talk show host is gone.