Following Entry Posted 4/11/2007 11:03:00 AM

Don Imus and Rutgers Women's Basketball Players

Probably within fifteen minutes of Don Imus' remark about "nappy-headed hos" on the Rutgers women's basketball team, the issue became political.

How else could you explain the putative emotional, mental and physical pain expressed by the Rutgers coach, C. Vivian Stringer, at an hour-long news conference yesterday? For crying out loud, they were called a name. A name or something similar that their friends and acquaintances most likely have used. The Rutgers team members weren't marched to a slave labor camp, didn't endure the Holocaust, weren't held hostage by the Iranians for two weeks, and they didn't watch as their family members died in the World Trade Center. They were called a name.

So, let's recap the actual harm done to the Rutgers team.

Emotional - These women play in a dynamic, highly-competitive sport which guarantees each player experiences highs and lows of emotion throughout the season. The chatter on the court alone would likely not be fit for polite society and I must assume that players are acclimated to shrug off mere name-calling.

Mental - It's difficult to create a circumstance whereby college students, much less high-profile athletes, could be so deluded that the existence of bigotry and bigoted speech escaped them. If they have nightmares, I'd suggest they would be about the agony of a missed shot rather than what one radio personality says. The players would necessarily be immune to any arbitrary set of words spoken after having listened to barking coaches, screaming fans, pissed-off teammates and antagonists on opposing teams.

Physical - Give me a break. What physical pain could Don Imus have caused. Although his image is arguably retch-worthy, it's inconceivable that mere words would create physical pain.

Concluding simply, I believe the extreme pain caused by Imus' remarks is fantasy. The women playing basketball for Rutgers are made of much stronger stuff than they are credited with.

Don't mistake my words as a defense of Don Imus' comments. I don't particularly like most of what he says, the latest remarks included. However, he has the right to say anything his heart desires. Imus also must realize that he has to suffer the consequences of his statements and expect the worst if he offends the more equal segments in society.
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