Apr 11, 2007 6:07 pm US/Eastern
Rutgers Protesters Denounce Imus' Comments
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (CBS/AP) ―
The cry for radio host Don Imus to lose his job over racially charged remarks he made about the Rutgers women's basketball team only grew louder Wednesday as politicians, religious leaders and students across the state added their voices to the outrage.
In two protests held at Rutgers' campuses in New Brunswick and Newark, a combined group of roughly 600 people gathered, waving signs showing their support for the team and cheering loudly for calls to silence the shock-jock permanently.
"The only thing shocking is that you are still on the airwaves," said State Sen. Nia Gill, D-Essex, who called for a boycott of companies who continue to sponsor Imus' show. "If you are not a racist or a sexist, then who is?"
The radio host has long been infamous for his insults often aimed at public figures, but his comments April 4 against the Rutgers women, who had just lost the NCAA championship game to Tennessee the night before, have led many to call for his ouster.
In an on-air exchange with his producer, Imus referred to the team as "rough girls" and then went on to call them "nappy-headed hos." The term "nappy-headed" is a derogatory way of referring to the hair of some black people, while "ho" is slang for "whore."
His comments have been widely denounced by civil rights and women's groups, and several major sponsors such as Procter & Gamble Co. and the office supply chain Staples Inc. have decided to stop advertising on his program.
Starting Monday, Imus will be suspended for two weeks for the remarks. But many at the Garden State rallies felt the length of his on-air absence was too short and that he shouldn't be allowed to return to the air at all.
"This two-week suspension is not a slap on the wrist, it is a slap in the face of all of us," Newark Mayor Cory Booker said at the Newark rally. "This is a man who reaps millions and millions of dollars through his position, through his radio show. A two-week suspension is nothing."
The radio host has apologized repeatedly for his comments; on Tuesday, Imus said the joke went "way too far." Imus has also pointed to his charity work as proof of his good deeds and said that while he made a mistake, he is still a "good person."
That defense -- and his apologies -- did not carry much weight with people at the rallies who questioned his sincerity and whether the repeated apologies were meant to save his job instead.
"It seems as if he's almost trying to wiggle his way out of it," said Justin Darko, 20, a junior at Rutgers who said he thought it was important for men to show that it wasn't acceptable to make such remarks about women or blacks.
Others pointed out that while Imus has apologized on the air, he has yet to apologize directly to the women he was talking about.
During a news conference Tuesday, the Rutgers' players talked publicly for the first time about the remarks they said had marred what had been a true, 'come-from-behind' season that saw them become the first Rutgers team to make it to a championship game.
The women also announced that they would meet with Imus at an undisclosed time and place to hear what he had to say.
That meeting may happen within days, said Rev. DeForest Soaries who is a pastor at the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset and who said he has been in close contact with Rutgers' coach C. Vivian Stringer.
Soaries -- who on Wednesday called for Imus to be fired -- said he would be helping arrange the meeting between Imus and the players. Soaries said he was working out details such as where the meeting would take place, who would attend and when it would happen.
Soaries also urged people to make their views known to the companies that sponsor the show, the media outlets where it is broadcast and the Federal Communications Commission which monitors public airways.
Ultimately, it will be up to the Rutgers basketball players to determine whether Imus is sufficiently sorry and should be allowed back on the air, Soaries said.
"No one can accept his apology except the people that were the focus of his venom," he said.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
