EWING – Senate President Pro Tempore Shirley K. Turner, the sponsor of the resolution to honor the Rutger’s Women’s Basketball team for their inspiring run to the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Finals, today called on CBS Radio and MSNBC to suspend radio shock jock Don Imus for a month following his racist remarks on Friday about the Lady Scarlet Knights.
Senator Turner made the following statement:
“CBS Radio and MSNBC should suspend Don Imus and his show for a month to show that there are real consequences to such deplorable acts. And if they don’t take action, it is up to the companies that advertise on his show to pull their ads and show America that they do not condone racism or hate speech.
“Don Imus’ apology is not enough to make up for his despicable remarks. There need to be real consequences for spreading that sort of racism on our airwaves.
“Apologies only work when the person doesn’t know any better. Don Imus knew better than to use racist slurs against a group of women who have proudly represented the State of New Jersey.
“When our young people, especially our young women, succeed in their endeavors, we should join together in praise. We should hold them us as role models for future generations to follow.
“Instead of acting like a decent human being, Don Imus decided to attack these admirable women simply because they didn’t measure up to his standard of beauty and that attack was made even worse by the racist language he used.
“Talk radio has increasingly become the home to words of bigotry and hate voiced under the protection of ‘free speech.’ We cannot sit idly by and allow this cancer to continue to fester in our society. People of every race, religion and walk of life should join together to put an end to this behavior once and for all.”