Imus Wears His Scarlet Letter Gracefully

As many of you may know, Don Imus made some "politically incorrect" comments regarding the Rutgers Women’s' basketball team during a discussion about the NCAA Women’s' Basketball Championship on his show. This past week, Imus was held responsible for these comments and publicly "crucified" for his words, resulting in the termination of his job from both CBS radio and MSNBC television. From this cancellation of the syndicated "Imus in the Morning" show, Imus lost out on a reported 50 million deal. Imus has gone on record saying that he does not really need the job and it is not about making more money. Imus continued to mention, during a CBS evening news broadcast, that he wants to personally apologize to the Rutgers Women’s' team.

The Rutgers team has held a number of press conferences and has even gone on Oprah to voice their stance on the matter. They feel that Imus' comments were unfair, racist and chauvinistic. Currently, many individuals side with the Rutgers' team in their allegations. Al Sharpton held an interview, which seemed more like an attack on Imus, to discuss the matter on his April 9th radio show. Sharpton concurred that comments Imus made about the Rutgers team were "abominable", "racist", and "sexist". It seems as though figureheads in the media are blowing smoke left and right just talking about this issue.

The issue is not whether Imus' claims were said with malice (they were not), or politically correct (they were not). The matter at hand regards the extent of free speech in America---how far is too far? Radio jocks like Howard Stern constantly objectify women on their show and poke fun at people's sexual orientation---we are not seeing these people losing their jobs. America has a certain definition of free speech that is not consistent with what is stated in the First Amendment. Personalities like Rosie O' Donnell (that are currently under attack by the media) are speaking out to protect their rights as well as those of Imus as upheld by the First Amendment. It is hard not to side with Rosie on this subject---it is ok to bash on gays and lesbians in public, but it is not ok to make racial comments? The First Amendment grants citizens the right of "free speech, free press, free religion, and the right to petition".

If consistent with this amendment, Imus would still have his job. It seems like the media perpetuates scandal and conflict by targeting individuals and exaggerating subject matter. The media will do anything for ratings and discussion. It is somewhat pathetic how the media spins stories in their favor, but that is a whole other issue for debate...