NEW YORK — Don Imus said Tuesday morning on his radio show that he was trying to “make a sarcastic point” with his latest on-air remarks about race, but that they had been misunderstood.
Imus resurrected his radio career six months ago with a pledge to mend the wounds caused by a racist and sexist comment he made about the Rutgers University women’s basketball team.
On Tuesday he said he was following the spirit of that promise by calling attention to the unfair treatment of blacks — in this case the arrests of suspended Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam Jones.
“What people should be outraged about is that they arrest blacks for no reason,” Imus said Tuesday. “I mean, there’s no reason to arrest this kid six times. Maybe he did something once, but everyone does something once.”
During a conversation about Jones’ run-ins with the law, Imus asked, “What color is he?” Sports announcer Warner Wolf said Jones — formerly known as Pacman — is “African-American.” Imus responded: “There you go. Now we know.”
Jones said he’s upset by Imus’ comments and plans to pray for the radio host.
It is unlikely Imus will face any disciplinary action.
