Imus' Apology is Hollow

For the past few days, the story of radio personality Don Imus's crass remarks about the Rutgers University women's basketball team has been one of the top items in the news. On Wednesday, April 4, just one day after the team lost the NCAA title to Tennessee, Imus and his producer sat on the air making completely ignorant comments about the young women. Imus described them as tattooed "rough girls" and "nappy-headed hos" while his producer compared the team to the NBA's Toronto Raptors. Two days later, Imus offered what many feel was a pathetic apology for his comments, and spent Monday morning apologizing again on Rev. Al Sharpton's radio show as well.

However, many feel the apology is not enough. Furthermore, the apology does not seem sincere in the least bit. Imus claims that the point of his show is to be funny, but where is the humor in disrespecting a group of women who have achieved what the Rutgers women's basketball team has. Not only did they have the opportunity to play for the NCAA championship, these are a group of women who are bettering themselves by getting a college education. As C. Vivian Stringer, coach of the Rutgers women's baskeball team, said, we should see these young women "for the human beings they are," rather than as objects to be made fun of and disrespected. For this man, who I personally do not find funny at all, to disrespect these women and call them nappy-headed hos is absolutely disgraceful.