Imus' Adam "Pacman" Jones Comment: Asks Of Suspended, Crime-Ridden Athlete, "What Color Is He?"

Update with Imus response below

A little over a year after being fired for making what were perceived as racist and sexist comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team, Don Imus is courting controversy again over a potentially racist remark made about an athlete.

When sports host Warner Wolf explained that Adam "Pacman" Jones — who was suspended in 2007 following a Last Vegas nightclub shooting incident — had been arrested six times, Imus asked, "What color is he?"

A slightly confused Wolf responded, "He's African American."

Imus then said, "Well, there you go. Now we know."

Listen (via Politico):

Imus returned to the airwaves in December after eight months off the air.

Story continues below

Update: Imus has defended his comments in an email exchange with the New York Times' Jacques Steinberg:

Asked in an e-mail message what he was trying to convey, Mr. Imus wrote: "I meant he was being picked on because he's black.'' He added that Dick Gregory, a veteran comedian and activist who is black, would be a guest on his show on Tuesday, to discuss the death of George Carlin. "We'll see what he thinks,'' Mr. Imus wrote. "I mean...come on!''

Full transcript, via AOL sports, below:

Wolf: "Defensive back Adam 'Pacman' Jones, recently signed by the Cowboys. Here's a guy suspended all of 2007 following a shooting in a Vegas night club."

Imus: "Well, stuff happens. You're in a night club, for God's sake. What do you think's gonna happen in a night club? People are drinking and doing drugs, there are women there, and people have guns. So, there, go ahead."

Wolf: "He's also been arrested six times since being drafted by Tennessee in 2005."

Imus: "What color is he?"

Wolf: "He's African-American."

Imus: "Well, there you go. Now we know."

Comments

[NoLove4HillaryAnymore]

The guys is just straight stupid...some people just don't learn. that is just true for most republican Americans.

[jemiltd]

For what it's worth, I heard the comment in context and I believe him. Too many other more important issues in the news. He needs a lesson in communication if he wants to keep his multi-million dollar job. On the other hand, it may have been a Freudian slip to get attention since his ratings are faltering.
Dunno, don't care.

[DarkStar]

...and a Baba Booey to you all!

[eggman]

For someone who talks for a living, Imus doesn't do a very good job of expressing himself sometimes. I can easily believe he was trying to say blacks get arrested a lot more for doing the same stuff whites do. But someone predisposed to think Imus is a racist could read his comment another way, and he seems tone-deaf to the way he comes across. If he had said, 'there you go, the cops love to arrest black guys" then we wouldn't be having this conversation.

He also would have come across as more sensitive if he had asked "what race is he" rather than "what color". Referencing color is so 1950.

[Tommygun264]

Buh-bye Don, you will not be missed.

[H.L. Mencken]

speak for yourself young one

[neonchez]

sorry but imus should not have to apologize for what he said. imus is a racist and what he said is wrong and offensive. however, i believe whole heartedly in free speech. imus has the right to say whatever dumb, ignorant, racist thing he wants.

"I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it."

[Horus]

Asked in an e-mail message what he was trying to convey, Mr. Imus wrote: "I meant he was being picked on because he's black.''

HAHA, yeah right...but I have to admit, he's getting smarter! This is the defense that will keep him off the hook with this one.

[qdog112]

"hat will keep him off the hook with this one."

Are you saying you believe that defense? You pointed it out, so you have to be smarter than that.

[Horus]

No, of course not. I don't believe it, but I think it will keep him from getting in trouble because enough other people WILL believe it.

[kas70]

You know what...I actually buy his clarification. I'm black. I was really ticked about his comments last year. I didn't like (still don't) that he brought up race when he didn't need to yesterday, and at first I didn't see how he was trying to spin it.

I get it now though. He is an old school white guy who, even though he got himself into a mess last year, has a hard time realizing that he cannot bring up race and leave it hanging. If he means a certain thing, he needs to say it outright - especially now with his track record.

But yeah, I think this one we can let slide...

[eggman]

Well said.

[slobone]

OK, shall we be honest here? Everybody asks themselves the same question when they hear that an athlete has been arrested. Every single person, white or black, every single time. If you try to claim you don't, you're lying.

But most of us have enough sense not to say it out loud. Especially if we already got fired once for being a racist.

[957]

So he just said what the majority of us think, its the who minority who find his comment racist. Get real folks there is racism will always be racism, there are those who hate gays,lesbians,Chinese,jews,polish,Mexicans, etc. even dogs and cats there is enough hate in america and the world towards anyone who was not born of English decent or as you like to think it the "superior race"..thats the way it is and it won't change like it or not.

[H.L. Mencken]

i agree %100

[dallashailee]

I really could care less about this guy. I was just watching Morning Joe and I personally think the main racist in the media right now is Pat Buchanan. A couple of months ago he stated African-Americans should be thanking white people for creating welfare for them...and it was completely off the radar. I find it appauling MSNBC still gives this guy a paycheck. He was defending Imus' comments, as he does every racially ignorant statment...but was outraged when Obama made the "guns and religion" comment. According to Pat Buchanan, even those that lynched blacks decades ago weren't racist...but don't you dare make a comment about a white person. What a bigotted moron! DOWN WITH PAT BUCHANAN! DOWN WITH HATE!

[H.L. Mencken]

I suggest you are jumping to youthful serendipitous judgment-where is your sense of generational perspective! Traditionally in America such ignorance was laughed at?

[hoodrat]

No sir, traditionally such generational ignorant perspectives was the norm.

[Witchitalineman]

I am not a fan of Imus but after listening to his explanation give him the benefit of the doubt and accept what point he was trying to make; I just think someone will his past just needs to be very careful in his reference to race.

[Flick08]

If a story is reported involving: pedophilia, bestiality, necrophelia, serial killings, tax evasion, insider trading, or abducting and/or killing your pregnant wife; what race is the suspect most likely to be?

I've never heard anyone in the news air the statistics for those crimes.

I'm ridiculing to make a point but, seriously, it's amazing when you travel abroad and hear newscasts. They don't make the racial distinctions that are so commonplace in US media.

Imus asked the question and it highlighted the racial insinuation but mainstream media does roughly the same thing only they use percentages so that it sounds more objective. But how many times are the racial statistics really relavent to the story? Not very often.

[rjlwis]

Will all of the politcally correct "pinheads" please CHILL-OUT! Have any of you listened to Rush or Hannity lately? How about Pat Robertson or other religious goofs? Seems to me there is selective listening going on and wouldn't that be a form of...discrimination!

[qdog112]

"politcally correct "pinheads"" correctly spelled "politically"

No, this "pinhead" and I suspect many others don't listen to those clowns - at least we don't admit it. So your "EVERYBODY ELSE" does it defense doesn't work.

[Roomer]

His explanation is salient. It would have been bad form for him to try to explain the joke he was making at the time. If you think Imus is a rascist, you are either ignorant, or a reverse-racist yourself.