Don Imus’s latest controversial comments, and this morning’s explanation of what he was trying to say, are fodder for the cablers today.
During his radio show Monday, Warner Wolf was talking about Dallas Cowboys defensive back “Pacman” Jones who, Wolf explained, has “been arrested six times since being drafted by Tennessee in 2005.” That prompted Imus to ask, “What color is he?” “He’s African-American,” Wolf responded. “Well, there you go,” Imus said.
This morning, Imus explained that he was defending blacks with his remarks. Imus said Jones was arrested six times because police were “picking on him.” “He’s a football player. He is a lovely kid. He was out there having fun,” Imus said.
FNC and CNN began covering the story last night while MSNBC picked up on it this morning. On Morning Joe, during the time slot Imus once occupied, producers made the Imus comments the lead story each hour, which included a defensive stand from analysts Mike Barnicle and Pat Buchanan…
Pat Buchanan: “People should be sensitive, obviously on television but this is supposed to be America. The land of the free and the home of the brave where people make their comments and some of them we don’t like and some of them we do. You can cut him off. But I don’t see the huge problem with this. Really.” Brzezinski added, “I just don’t know why he went there.” “That’s a valid point,” Barnicle said. “I don’t know the answer to that. But I do know the answer to the question is Don Imus a racist? No.”
Click for the FishbowlNY stories of yesterday’s and today’s Imus comments…