Troubled NFL baller Adam "Pacman" Jones was the subject. Sportscaster Warner Wolf was talking about how Jones had been suspended for a season and arrested six times. "What color is he?" asked Imus. "He's African-American," said Wolf. "Well, there you go," said Imus. "Now we know." The point of the sarcastic joke, the tired, geriatric Imus said on the air, was that "they arrest black people in this country for no reason. That's all. And that's what people should be outraged about."
Critics said the joke was worded ambiguously, so it could have been taken to suggest blacks have inherent criminal tendencies. Aside from that, it's not funny!
Karith Foster, a comic herself and one of the show's two black co-hosts, strongly defended Imus and suggested the problem was the difficulty of conveying sarcastic humor."A lot people," she said, "don't get it."
On the air this morning, Imus bluntly labeled any charge of racism "nonsense. . . . I don't mind people looking at past stuff, but let's not get stupid."
While he did not address the question of ambiguity in the phrasing, that point was indirectly raised by one of this morning's guests, comedian Dick Gregory.
Gregory said he doesn't personally think Imus is racist and that he took the Pacman comment to be "about racial profiling." He added, however, "You know what you meant. But a lot of people won't give you the benefit of the doubt - and they shouldn't."
Imus was defended strongly by his on-air team, with Foster saying, "I wouldn't be here if you hadn't kept your pledge" to make the show an ongoing racial dialogue.
Tony Powell, the other black co-host, said the media should pay more attention to the number of black guests who have talked with racial issues with Imus since he returned to the air in December.
Wolf, who played straight man in the Jones exchange, said, "People are trying to make something out of nothing. Anybody who listens knows that's a joke you make all the time."
Foster noted that when she left "The View," Imus immediately joked that it must be racism.
WABC managers had indicated they talked with Imus on Monday about the Jones comment and didn't expect any disciplinary action - though the scope of public reaction can sometimes affect that decision. Source
Jones, the sixth pick in the 2005 draft, totaled four interceptions for Tennessee during his first two NFL seasons, returning one for a touchdown. He also had four punt returns for scores.
