Forget Imus, Remember Rutgers

Don Imus may have done the country a favor. As a result of his remarks Americans got to see ten Rutgers basketball players and their coach for an hour and a half on all three cable news networks. They were stars.

The women spoke from their hearts to our hearts in one of the most stunning live television events in memory. They put a face on the previously anonymous victims of Imus' ad hominem attacks, and what a face it was. Ten young women, five freshmen, four sophomores and a junior; eighteen, nineteen and twenty-year-olds, bright, honest and not yet wise to the ways of the world.

This was no PR stunt, these girls hurt and they were not prepared to shrug it off. They had absorbed the pain and they were still suffering. Then it hit me: Imus had abused real people, decent people, people who were not ready to walk away and say "Oh, that's just Imus." They were ready to fight.

They were led by their coach, C. Vivian Stringer, strong, mothering and wise. They were her chicks and nobody was going to push them around. She spoke gently, no savage attack on Imus, no demand for his head. Instead she stressed the credentials of her players - valedictorians, musicians, pre-meds, business students, all with B averages or better.

She told of their slow start, two wins, four losses. She said they were dedicated, they worked hard, they stayed at Rutgers over Christmas so they might practice together. They got better and better, they won the big East championship, got into the NCAA and, to everybody's surprise, wound up in the finals. Rutgers celebrated, then Imus shot off his mouth and the party ended.

Tuesday Coach Stringer and her team appeared on television. Their very presence, their words belied his insults. Imus had jumped on a stereotype and ridden it into the ground. He had abused them but none of his viewers seemed to notice. For forty-eight hours we ignored the feelings of his victims. Then it hit the fan and Imus ran for cover. We who watch Imus regularly realized that he represented a nastiness all too common in Americans.

Rutgers, on the hand, represents our very best -- student athletes working their way into the American dream. From the ghetto, from the burbs, they still believe that hard work and good habits will take them to the top. Imus and the rest of us cynics gave up on that a long time ago. They still have hope, we none. After watching them I'll try to find the courage to abandon cynicism and surrender myself to hope once again.

In that spirit I suggest that MSNBC edit Tuesday's press conference into a one hour, commercial-free program -- just the words of the coach and the players, and air it on MSNBC during primetime everyday next week. It may cost NBC a few bucks but that's pennies compared to the benefit of public penance.