So Kia Vaughn, one of the African-American players on the Rutgers University women's basketball team termed "nappy-headed hos" by Don Imus way back when, is suing the former (and soon to be, again, current) shock jock for slander, etc. Lots of problems here, seems to me:
1] For one thing, Imus didn't mention Vaughn specifically by name; how therefore can she claim to have been specifically damaged? 2] Far from having her good name ruined, the fact is that Imus' comments triggered a huge wave of sympathy for her and her team. When all was said and done, her name, and that of the Rutgers team, wasn't ruined; instead, at the time we saw countless articles in the news media emphasizing the hard-working, scrappy, over-achieving nature of this team, along with its academic exploits.
Imus' comments were just that, comments. They have no power over these Rutgers players--unless they give his comments that power. This lawsuit to me smacks of an attempt to make some money. It's sad--the best thing to do for these Rutgers players is to move on. But that won't happen with lawsuits pending. UPDATE: James Taranto at Opinionjournal.com makes good points on the suit, too--did anyone truly believe that Imus was literally calling the members of the team "hos"? And can damage really be proven? As Taranto suggested, this whole issue is something that should be decided, not in civil court, but in the court of public opinion.
