DON IMUS EXPLAINS RACIST COMMENT ABOUT PACMAN JONES IMUS SAYS HE WAS BEING SARCASTIC STOP PICKING ON HIM AFTER NAPPY HEADED HO'S REMARKS CONTROVERSY

Don Imus must love the taste of his own foot in his mouth.  He's back at it again, just a little over a year after being fired and taken off the air for making racist and sexist comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team. Don Imus took to the airwaves on his WABC radio show on Tuesday morning and explained that people are picking on him and overreacting for no reason.

Click here or on the image above to watch Don Imus' explanation of what he meant when he asked about the race of Pacman Jones.

Radio host Don Imus said Tuesday he was making "a sarcastic point" that police often unfairly target blacks when he asked about Adam "Pacman" Jones' race on his show.  Imus, who lost his job last year after comments on the Rutgers University women's basketball team, said the latest controversy is fueled by people who are out to get him."No man has more discussions about race than I have," he said. "Why not report on that? I know some people want to get me, but this is ridiculous." Imus pointed out that his show has a black producer and two black co-hosts. source

The radio host said he was being sarcastic and his "quip" was not racist.  He makes a point to say that now he has an African-American producer of his radio show and two other African-American hosts who are staff members on the payroll. Don Imus says he wouldn't dare make a racist statement now that his revamped show is on the air and everyone has paranoia because his main concern is for the plight of African-American males who are being wrongly targeted in their communities.   One of Don Imus' co-workers came to his defense and said that Imu's comments were misunderstood.

Swinging between frustration and angry exasperation, WABC radio morning host Don Imus Tuesday morning tried to shut down the crossfire over a racial joke he made Monday about pro football player Adam "Pacman" Jones.

The point of the sarcastic joke, 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.

On Monday's show, 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."

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."

Audio and video clips of Monday's exchange quickly moved into wide circulation through the Internet, sparking considerable commentary both pro- and anti-Imus.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who led the ultimately successful campaign to have Imus fired from WFAN and MSNBC last April after he cracked that the Rutgers women's basketball team looked like "nappy-headed ho's," said Monday he would decide shortly whether to seek sanctions in this case. source

Don Imus was fired after he called the African-American Rutgers womens basketball team players "jiggabos" and "hardcore"nappy-headed hos." Imus apologized and met with the team players but he was still taken off of the air for a year. NJ Governor Jon Corizine was seriously injured in a car accident on the way to the meeting.   Click here to watch the Don Imus comment if you missed it the first time.

This time, when Imus is discussing the legal woes of Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones, the radio shock jock asked, "What color is he?"  When he's told that Jones is African-American, Imus said, "Well, there you go. Now we know."

Check out the full transcript below:

The New York Times reports that Imus later defended his comments.  When asked via email what he was trying to convey, Don 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!''

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 a 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."

He called the flurry of criticism surrounding the comments "ridiculous" and said that his program's cast is now more diverse than ever — and includes a black producer and two black co-hosts, a man and a woman.

"How insane would I have to be? What would I be thinking?" Imus wondered aloud.

The latest comments by Imus to come under scrutiny were aired on Monday's broadcast. 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."

The on-air exchange came months after Imus' return to work on a new show on WABC-AM following his firing from MSNBC and CBS Radio for calling the Rutgers University women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos."

When he returned to work, Imus gave a lengthy on-air apology and pledged to use his new show to foster an open dialogue on race relations. source