If you are even a half-hearted sports fan you have probably heard of the recent events that took place concerning broadcaster Don Imus and the comments he made about the Rutgers women's basketball team. I know all the regular contributors to the basketball page must have, so that leaves me with two disturbing realities. One is that people in high places have a lot to say about this issue, on both sides of the fence, but won't do anything about it. Two is that here at Helium such racism seems to be insignificant, so long as it doesn't concern the men's side of the sports world.

The most appalling of all things besides Imus' actions, which I will get to, is the reaction from his employers. Those at CBS and MSNBC only SUSPENDED him, for two weeks, which doesn't take effect until next Monday. That means that he has a week to try and cover up his stupidity before he feels the "ramifications" of his actions. How does he not lose his job? Still, even those who called for the termination of his employment, from Pat Summit to Rutger's coach Vivian Stringer, from NBA analysts like Tim Legler to virtually every commentator on the ESPN family of networks, still only did that, just call for. Even with their standings in the professional world of sports, they can only sit back and talk.

Now, there were certain people, like Charles Barkley, who said that as long as Imus apologized he should get to keep his job. What we need to keep in mind here is that individuals like Charles Barkley have themselves made their reputation on their own collection of controversial views and verbal utterances. I love Charles Barkley, but he gets away with saying a lot of things that other people don't, so it would make sense he would defend another man with equal disregard for his words.

Still, it is not fair to assume Imus is a racist, but his handling of the situation has been anything but first class. In his feeble attempts to make amends, he agreed to go on Al Sharpton's radio program. While coming under fire from Sharpton, he remarked "I can't get anywhere with you people". The room was largely filled with black individuals. Now, maybe you could possibly let the "nappy-headed hos" comment slip (though not likely), but his disregard for his environment should let the general public know that if Imus is not racist, he is at the very least only concerned with his fifteen minutes of fame. I mean he can't be sensitive enough to other groups of people (female athletes, black Americans) or even to his own name to stop to think about what comes from his aging mouth. The punishment should be stiffer for such a reckless individual.

Finally, I haven't found one article in the first six pages of the basketball section on Helium. (I stopped looking after that). I couldn't help but feel that since such attacks were perpetuated on a woman's team, the whole chronology of event was moot in the eyes of the regular basketball contributors. I'm as guilty in the next; I should have posted this sooner. But we get so caught up in the Mavericks locking up the best record in the league, the battle for 8th in both conferences in the NBA, who's in the draft and who's out, that we miss the more important issues. There's always next year to get into these things, but racism and the double standards we have for male and female sports seem to be things that we try to ignore but never die. That Rutgers' women's team is a scrappy bunch and watching them in the tournament this year was inspiring. I suggest we follow their lead and address this issue at it's sources.

Learn more about this author, Robert Solis.
Click here to send author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about Addressing racism and double standards in women's basketball?
We want to hear your view. Write now!