The I-Mess

Several of you have emailed me asking my take on the Don Imus mess. For those of you who were able to avoid this story, CBS Radio suspended Sports WFAN-AM/New York morning host and syndicated personality Don Imus for two weeks, effective April 16, following the remarks that he made last week when he called the Rutgers University girls basketball team "nappy headed hos."

CBS Radio has made a fortune off of pushing the envelope. They hire guys to be outrageous and only act moral when one of those guys jumps over that imaginary line of decency. They did it for years with Howard Stern and would still be doing it if Howard had not been feed up with CBS himself.

Imus will not be fired. In my opinion he shouldn't be. He is doing the job CBS pays him to do. What he said was rude, offensive and uncalled for. Yet it's not much different from what Imus says everyday on his show. It's why people listen. They want that uncomfortable laugh while thinking "I can't believe I just heard that."

Imus has the biggest promotion for his show going right now. The day after his suspension he will have the largest audience tuning in to hear him. Personally, I'd would rather let people speak their minds. If you are racist, be racist. Tell me what you think. It will then be up to me to decide if I want to spend any moment of my life listening to you.

If you speak long enough, you are bound to say something stupid. Offending someone is not a capital crime, no matter how offensive the words may be. Fire the man because he is not talented. Fire the man because no one listens to his show. Fire the man because CBS suddenly gets a conscience and refuses to air garbage anymore. But don't fire the man to appease people who jump in front of a camera every time a racial topic comes up.

That's my take.

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