One Joke Too Many

Exactly how far can one's jokes go before being funny becomes insulting? Don Imus, most commonly known as Imus in the Morning, found just that out earlier this week. On a radio broadcast that aired last week Imus was discussing the Rutger's women's basketball team and referred to them as“nappy-headed hos.” As you can imagine this was not taken lightly. MSNBC and CBS radio have suspended the popular radio host as of Monday for two weeks, with his return depending on how his apologies are accepted. CBSNews
Imus himself admits that he shouldn't have said what he did, but on his radio talk show " our agenda is to be funny and sometimes we go too far. And this time we went way too far.”
Over the weekend civil-rights leaders such as Al Sharpton and Reverend DeForest Soaries called for Imus to be fired for his racist remarks, and aren't pleased with just a suspension. ImusTalkshow Imus has since apologized profusely on the air and to the women's basketball team. Imus also stated that he will change the discourse and direction that his show has been taking if allowed back.

Protesters have been voicing their disgust for Imus and his show all week. Angela Burt-Murray, editor in chief of Essence magazine stated,“I don’t care about an apology, You’re not a child on the playground. You’re an adult who needs to take responsibility for his actions. And there need to be consequences.”
Imus appeared on the Al Sharpton show this morning to apologize after Sharpton refused Imus' invitation to come speak with him on his morning radio show.AlSharptonInterview On air Imus again apologized and talked about how he isn't a journalist or a politician with an agenda. His agenda is to entertain people while they listen, and to be funny. Imus also talked about how he knows that his joke about the Rutger's women's basketball team wasn't funny, and that there is no excuse for what he said saying,"I just wasn't thinking, I'm a good person who said a bad thing."

Meanwhile the Women's basketball team is considering their options, and a meeting is in the works so that Imus can apologize to the girls and their families. Imus hopes that the public makes an educated decision on who he is as a person and take a look at what he has done. (Opened ranch for children battling cancer, half of whom are of a different race.)
In closing, here are segments from the transcript of Imus's apology and what he had to say for himself.
"So I’m going to go talk to these women, if they will let me, and tell them what I have just told you. And what have I learned from this? Because Reverend DeForest Soaries said, I want you to tell me what you have learned. Here’s what I have learned: that you can’t make fun of everybody, because some people don’t deserve it. And because the climate on this program has been what it has been for 30 years doesn’t mean that it has to be that way for the next five years or whatever, because that has to change. So—and I understand that.Why would I think then, it’s okay to go on the radio last Wednesday and make fun of these kid, who just played for national championship? Well, I can’t answer that. I’m sorry I did that. I’m embarrassed that I did that. I did a bad thing. But I’m a good person. And that will change."Apology