Don Imus is Fired by MSNBC

NBC News stresses their ongoing apology to the players from the Rutgers basketball team, "We deeply regret the pain this incident has caused."

(NEW YORK) - Talk show host Don Imus is being let go over remarks he made about black female collegiate basketball players that he called "nappy headed hos."

MSNBC has announced that it would no longer simulcast the "Imus in the Morning" radio program.

NBC News announced in a statement, "this decision comes as a result of an ongoing review process, which initially included the announcement of a suspension. It also takes into account many conversations with our own employees. What matters to us most is that the men and women of NBC Universal have confidence in the values we have set for this company. This is the only decision that makes that possible."

The network stresses their ongoing apology to the players from the Rutgers basketball team, "We deeply regret the pain this incident has caused."

The Don Imus show originated on the New York radio station WFAN, a CBS Corp. station, and is heard nationally on radio by Westwood One. CBS owns 18 percent of Westwood One and also manages the company.

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James Landrum April 17, 2007 5:25 pm (Pacific time)

man, that physco needed the boot anyway, he needs to recollect all his braincells and rethink his life. . Thank God

Needles April 16, 2007 8:02 am (Pacific time)

Hopefully Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson will be the next bigots to head down lonesome trail.

South Park April 14, 2007 11:15 pm (Pacific time)

All I know is South Park HAS to do a parody episode of this crap! It would be a great episode.

Albert Marnell April 13, 2007 7:29 pm (Pacific time)

Needles, I do not understand the feelings you are trying to convey. Be specific and as the operator used to say, "Ten Cents, Please." Not that anyone cares, but I feel great right now.

Albert Marnell April 13, 2007 6:41 pm (Pacific time)

Thank you Tim! How is the Bee Keeper's Daughter? The Boss like Diana Ross. You guys are so decent it makes me happy. You thought I would say sick, didn't you, didn't you, didn't you. I have been drinking a nice Long Island wine sold at an affordable price.

Needles April 13, 2007 6:26 pm (Pacific time)

Marnell, LaMarch, Ruark, etc. You Know How to Keep A Liberal in Suspense?

Sooth April 13, 2007 6:05 pm (Pacific time)

Ghost. The left calls out their own! Hahahahahahahahahahahaha...

Sooth April 13, 2007 6:04 pm (Pacific time)

I was simply putting things in an historical context. Debate is healthy, my hope is that many of you try to enlarge your world view, try to see other perspectives. I have been around quite a while myself Marnell, certainly pre-date you. Oregon was a fairly safe place, even most of NE Portland, not anymore. Why do you think that is? To suggest that some people should get a pass, for what, their behavior? No way, accountability is for all, plus we will become even more divided as a nation with time, things are approaching a tipping point. If the media actually reported the news, then maybe the masses would see what's coming and possibly head-off the coming bad times. My view is that a very small group of corporate owners are steering us into a storm on purpose. My assertion is that their ancestors have a repeated history of being kicked out of western civilization going back to the ancient Greeks because of their egregious behavior(s). We shall soon see that I am right on...

JAFO; April 13, 2007 5:22 pm (Pacific time)

ghost of Che; I know the identity of this ..,"sooth"-sayer of liberal doom, I will, for the rite price,tell you,(capitalism.,what's wrong with that?)., and I wish you 100% good luck in trying to reach this tormented being! Let us liberals lay hands upon him and pray the truth lands in his life like a metaphysical fully armored, tanked up and loaded CH-46 in his swimming pool/recreation fortified compound, causing reflection.,remorse.,contrition and courage to face these years of denial, sort of like a twelve step "return to reason" program! By the way I want twenty bucks for the info.,the same as two "love boxes" for the troops in the other true battlefields, though this venue is more interesting each edition. Rock on S-L! Are those initials for "Sainted Liberals"?, wouldn't that be the grenade in the jello?, and furthermore.,Oprah did not call any caucasions "wavy headed whores",( at least not on the air), and furtermore, a lot of white guy cannot dance, I have seen this with mine own eyesah! yeah say the King James Version, and God grant me the serenity to remember who I am!.,uhh, um.,uhh., halleluya!,truly "bitchin'",(old surf term), and right on! This ought to send him (secret shadow) into a tirade I betcha!

Hank Ruark April 13, 2007 4:52 pm (Pacific time)

To all: Can now go further, to report that national source confirms this sortathing now going on as desperate ploy by Far Right to dominate dialog wherever possible. Word-to-wise should do the damage such comments earn.

Hank Ruark April 13, 2007 4:41 pm (Pacific time)

To all: Well-known "dirty trick" mode is to set up perpetrator to catch others, using space-time on channel to send more spin-stuff and relay more propaganda. Best way-out: two/three shots, enough for any rational participant...after that, becomes railery and ridiculous for all concerned. Includine ME !! Often caught but learning fast...

Ghost of Che Guevara April 13, 2007 4:32 pm (Pacific time)

Hey Sooth, I hope you don't think you are very startling when you cheer the alleged demise of the left. Here is the funny part though; at least "the left" is willing to call its own out when they error, there is not a big double standard here, at least this time. Heck, the other day black people were bagging on Barrack Obama because they felt he didn't represent them as a black American. If people just back up a little bit we would fare well, but everyone rallying to the side of Imus after disparaging, direct racial remarks is unfathomable, and shows the ever small mindset of your entire movement. Since Jesus was a liberal, how do you explain your POV? I mean, I would bet money that you parade around behind a false Christian flag, right? But the really big question is this my friend; would you have gone with the flow in the 30's in Germany or would you have stood up and endangered your life by calling the nazi's out for what they were doing? Honesty only now Sooth...

Albert Marnell April 13, 2007 3:17 pm (Pacific time)

Sooth, It takes time for wounds to heal. Be honest....do you really think that black Americans have been given a fair shake even in the last 50 years? When I was a kid inter-racial marriages were illegal. I remember in the mid-sixties the first commercial to show three couples, two white and one couple was black. My parents reacted as if all hell had broken loose. It is not long enough for old wounds to heal and for generations that were held back to play catch-up. And yes there are very racist blacks. They do not have a halo either. Unless you want to live in this multi-divided nation for the rest of your life, you have to start to recognize the feelings of the other side and vice-versa. African Americans get an advantage because they have been ostracized for so long...we are talking about degrees here, nothing is absolutely one way or the other. You know, your more angry than me and that ain't too healthy. I am learning relatively late in life to look at the total view rather than the partial view except for the opinions of people from certain parts of Brooklyn and Jersey. But I will never kiss butt.

Sooth April 13, 2007 1:38 pm (Pacific time)

Saw the other day Oprah had the Rutgers basketball team on her show and couple of the players said they were scarred for life because of what Imus said (sure!), then Oprah tells them that "White men can't dance!" I wonder if Gene Kelley and Fred Astaire took umbrage. Big double standard out there folks. Oh well.

Sooth April 13, 2007 12:41 pm (Pacific time)

Let me revise and extend my comment's, students: Throughout recorded history there has been slavery going on, and it's safe to assume it was going on before recorded history. If you're a caucasian, even with some blueblood, you have an ancestoral history of thousands of years of being enslaved and oppressed. Your ancestors got over it and gave you this wonderful thing called Western Civilization. Had they just sat around and bitched about the bad deal they got, well, we'd still be in the dark ages. Think of those groups today who blame Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome, or some other lame excuse for their "own" shortcomings. Well I guess we all could say that and blame all our problems on our genetic inheritable traits, or whatever, it's pretty ridiculous. At one time it was taught here in our colleges that during pre-Columbian America and up to the early 20th century that the hundreds of Indian Tribes (and the hundreds of factions) engaged in slavery of other tribes, even cannibalism during lean times. In fact all over the world this has been going on. In sub-Saharan Africa, the conquering tribes took slaves and subsequently sold their own brothers and sisters into slavery to outsiders. The arabs and the semetic jews were the biggest marketers/middlemen dealing in slavery. They are still involved in it today, as our Africans, who are still buying and selling slaves. Our country, our ancestors were able to overcome slavery and dissolve this thing that has been around for thousands of years....yeah, we should be proud of how this cycle was broken by us! But there will always be those who just hate what we are and what we accomplish, that they will still demonize and tell lies about us, even our own citizens. Maybe you have noticed them on this website? We are a great and far too generous people. Yes we still make mistakes, but we have cultural mechanisms in place to help correct those errors. Be proud of your ancestors people, those who tell you not to be, want to destroy us, they never will, they're on their way out, and they know it. The far left is in it's death throes. Thankfully.

Stupid April 13, 2007 11:31 am (Pacific time)

Diana Ross and the Supremes had nothing to do with the slave trade. I can not find any information anywhere and looked for hours.

Hank Ruark April 13, 2007 8:38 am (Pacific time)

Sooth et al: For simplicity here, mine refers only to American experience --and fact of long delay and support for slavery from Supremes, until wiser heads finally forced solution. FYI, that was Civil War. Re previous history, have 5-ft. shelf devoted to it; another re sociology/anthropology. But allathat useless in face of attitudinally-driven distorted "opinion".

I read it here first; April 13, 2007 2:41 am (Pacific time)

the Jews and the Arabs blamed simultaneously for slavery from centuries ago!., and inferring the white guys from Old England and New England, the Dutch and the Spanish-Portugese opium-slave, banking-industrial family establisments, colleges and "seminaries",(for the larger plantations),and East coast new world settlers, (a preponderance of caucasian pilgrims, entrepeneurs, criminals and indentured honkies as well as Columbus'original slaves,weren't "imposing"? I kow of few people with this outlook..

PR April 12, 2007 10:24 pm (Pacific time)

Sooth: You white MF! Your gonna clean my toilets!

Sooth April 12, 2007 5:56 pm (Pacific time)

Slavery was not imposed on the blacks by the white race. Possibly you would benefit by cracking open a history book. Maybe even a short synopsis via a good cultural/physical anthropology review of what has happened in sub-Saharan Africa over the last 5,000 years or so. Slavery has been there long long before the European went there, in fact it's still going on. It was the arabs and semetic jews that truely enlarged slavery to the new world. Gee what's happened to our educational system. Also it was essentially the liberal crowd that went on the Imus program, now they castigate him, ergo, the liberals eating their own. Peace R

Hank Ruark April 12, 2007 3:20 pm (Pacific time)

For the record, slavery was enforced upon the black race by the white race. Imus' remark attempted to abuse that situation for his own personal-private gain, exploding in his face. Note for today: "The North Carolina House formally apologized Wednesday 'for the injustice, cruelty and brutality of slavery,' becoming the latest state to offer its regret. History has its way of imposing equality and balance over the centuries...we may be witnessing that process here.

Hank Ruark April 12, 2007 3:14 pm (Pacific time)

Sooth, CMudge: Irony, it seems, is in the eye of the observer...I see no cannibalization by "liberals" --surely a loose-term these days !-- but rather precisely the consequences C-M defines. Media channels allowing such as Imus deserve the depth of rejection more and more persons, perhaps cogitating a bit more that realities of the war et al are sinking in so deeply, too, are now applying to the real motivators of such behavior...those funding the fundamentally-flawed program content via advertising. If there is irony here, it is in their sudden withdrawal of support for those they have promoted --cynical and ironic at the same time, as they are clearly retreating from solid separation of product sales by the many resenting such abuse of First Amendment intention.

Sooth April 12, 2007 2:56 pm (Pacific time)

Something ironic about CBS giving Imus the boot. Considering behavior of news readers like Cronkite and Rather. CBS simply caved to the race hustlers. The academy award song a few years ago that also was on the airwaves: "It's hard out there for a pimp" Pretty hypocritical. But love it when liberals eat their own...may we see more of it in the future.

Curmudgeon April 12, 2007 1:58 pm (Pacific time)

Raven, you apparently have limited reading comprehension. Nowhere did I suggest that there should be no consequences or that he shouldn't be sanctioned or dropped by MSNBC. Nowhere did I suggest MSNBC didn't have a right to cancel his show. While Imus has the right to say what he wants, MSNBC has the right to boot him off and refuse to give him air time. And if CBS follows suit and cancels his show, so be it. And I suspect that's what's going to happen. He will have to live with the consequences of his actions. He can say what he wants, but no one is required to give him a forum and pay him to say it. If he ends up unemployed I certainly won't miss him.

Sooth April 12, 2007 1:29 pm (Pacific time)

Thanks for the advice PR, I will tell my staff that the election run is over. But the bigger point here is why do you have a problem with someone who states factual information. Are you a black racist? You just unhappy with the hand you've been dealt? Seriously PR, that is what the conversation here is about...telling it like it is, not putting your head in the sand and going politically correct. If you continue to do that, then our freedom of speech is truely gone and only race hustlers will set the tone. ANONYMOUS are you stereotyping "brothers" as vindictive? I sure hope not, because I'm not!

Hank Ruark April 12, 2007 1:27 pm (Pacific time)

To all: Imus' remarks were his old gimmick to gain ongoing attention, but people now fed up with such stuff, in more matured culture than 1860s. "Market reaction" will drive him off radio-air, too: watch for CBS to follow suit.

John Mason April 12, 2007 9:59 am (Pacific time)

Looks like Sharpton and Jackson are going to cash in big time again. They are two people that keep racism alive and thrive of it. I'm amazed that during academy awards they play songs that degrade people and it's a million dollar hit, using the same words and then some even worse. You have to remember something people, only pale skinned Caucasian types can be racist and every No to someone of another race has to be racist based. You will loose, because there are people like Sharpton and Jackson that have spend most of their lives blackmailing and extorting people and businesses for sound bites that they could translate into racism.

middleground April 12, 2007 9:53 am (Pacific time)

What if the comment had been at Stanford, and a black comedian had said on the air, "Watch out for those white bitches, they sure are a bunch of fugly ho's!" Think he wouldn't have lost his job? I think that would have been equal across the board. The color of your skin doesn't matter when it comes to decency. I agree that Imus shouldn't have been fired, his apologies DO count, and he has done good work in the past. Still, he should have known better and now he's the scapegoat, just like Howard Stern. And I don't know where that leaves the first amendment, but people are fired for a lot less.

Raven April 12, 2007 7:47 am (Pacific time)

Leave the constitution out of this. Just as Imus has a right to say something incredibly stupid, MSNBC has the right to drop his show. Freedom of speech does not mean that there are no consequenses for what is said.

PR April 12, 2007 4:51 am (Pacific time)

Sooth, Don't run for office. I don't think that you will be able to get campaign contributions in the same way that Anus will have a hard time getting sponsors. And as for you Anonymous; Sooth represents one person.....himself. Stop trying to mimic a racist.

Anonymous April 11, 2007 10:07 pm (Pacific time)

You are all a bunch of little white men with no balls. Shut your mouths before some brother figures out who you are

Sooth April 11, 2007 9:39 pm (Pacific time)

Imus should have become assertive right away and said it was just a JOKE. Now you have all the real bigot's like Sharpton and Jackson making hay out of this JOKE (bad humor that it was). The real haters out there are reflected in the crime statistics people, and blacks are doing all the heavy numbers in killing and every other crime from the most violent to crimes like shoplifting.

Stupid With A Point April 11, 2007 8:40 pm (Pacific time)

I agree with Curmudgeon. Children should be able to say, Heil Hitler in school. It's so cute. When I was a kid we did it all of the time and even wrote chalk Swastikas all over the cinderblock walls. No one ever gave it a second thought except the janitor that had to wipe it off.

Curmudgeon April 11, 2007 8:18 pm (Pacific time)

One of the great things about this country is that we have the right to act like idiots. Look at Sharpton and Jackson. They've both made a life out of acting like idiots. I don't like Imus, I think he's a jerk, and I think what he said was incredibly rude and insulting. It's even more rude and insulting when he says it on national radio. But our constitution guarantees us the right to act like idiots and say stupid things. We have NO constitutional protection against being offended. Our constitution doesn't guarantee freedom of speech "except if you might offend someone." When I hear people demanding sanctions against another citizen because that person said something incredibly rude and insulting, which offended them, it's obvious they both are exercising their constitutional right to act like idiots. If you're offended, return the insult and get on with your life. Did I find Imus' comment offensive? Absolutely. But I just consider the inanity of the source and ignore him. He'll probably end up making a whole lot of money he wouldn't have made if people had just ignored him.

face facts April 11, 2007 7:55 pm (Pacific time)

If he was black this wouldn't have been an issue -- MSNBC dropped the show ONLY becuase of the bling was jumping ship.

Amen April 11, 2007 7:52 pm (Pacific time)

I have to put a word in for the white indentured servants, child labor, immigrants exploited for hundreds of years, women (used as chattel and free labor) and the people that work at places like WalMart or Target. This country was built on one form of slavery or another. The fact that I see 80 year old women at toll booths tells me that we already went to hell in a handbasket. I do not want to see 80 year old men there either. The 21st century will be a century of chaos, death, war and people battleing for what ever they can get to survive the exploitation of the global elite. Bilderberg and CFR etc. The police and military have already merged because they have no place to run either.

Jenalle April 11, 2007 7:15 pm (Pacific time)

This was a clear attempt at misguided humor. It wasn't right, but was it enough to discontinue a whole program? Look at all the incorrect comments coming out of Rosie O'D's mouth. In this situation, one individual needs to keep his nose out of it and let the players and Imus handle the situation. The media has taken over this situation and dictated what they wanted. WHAT A SHAME. MSNBC - Have a little backbone!!

Be Real For A Change April 11, 2007 5:35 pm (Pacific time)

So excuse anything is the way I guess? I think people like him have a responsibility and you seem to think he should be forgiven because he is white? That is ridiculous. Black people were "owned" by whites in this country just 140 and some odd years ago, and treated like garbage until the civil rights generation. Who has balls? They did, the people who fought the racists in Alabama, not Imus. He shouldn't just be slapped on the wrist like other whites always have when they act like idiots.

sUSAN wINKLE April 11, 2007 5:34 pm (Pacific time)

iWILL NO LONGER WATCH OR LISTEN TO YOUR STUPID PROGRAMS. lETTING iMUS GO IS NOT RIGHT. tAKE THIS AND SHOVE IT. mOST OF YOU ARE PROBABLY BIGGOTS YOURESELVES. YOU ARE CREEPS. WHAT A SAME THAT A PERSON THAT HAS DONE SO MUCH GOOD HAS TO BE DONE AWAY WITHLIKE DIRTY LAUNDRY...SHAME ON YOU..SW

not fair April 11, 2007 5:30 pm (Pacific time)

rev Al and Jessie are hypocrites- Snoop Dog gets off with probation and Imus gets shafted- blacks blame all their problems on white people

William C.McCombs April 11, 2007 5:23 pm (Pacific time)

Too bad, this reaction to something that was clearly humor. Oh well he will do ok. I have heard worse on the air. I guess it just matters who says it.

Terrence X.O'Brien April 11, 2007 5:22 pm (Pacific time)

This is a sad commentary that someone who has done so much for others makes an outrageous statement and is not given the opportunity to make ammends.

kingfish April 11, 2007 5:13 pm (Pacific time)

no balls msnbc , listening to those no account deadbeat shakedown arts lying al and shakedown jesse. pathetic.

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