Kia Vaughn: "Show me the money."
I've never been a fan of Don Imus. Ever.
He can be on the air or off the air. CBS can give him $20 million dollars. I don't care.
I am in no way defending the guy. I think he's a lib creep and he wasn't on my radar screen until the "nappy-headed ho" crisis gripped the nation.
At the time I said I found Imus' comment about the Rutgers women's basketball team to be highly objectionable. It was an awful, ugly remark.
He was fired by MSNBC and CBS, acts that had no impact on me at all. Good riddance. Whatever.
The controversy seemed to go on and on -- Al Sharpton, the whole mess.
At first, I thought the Rutgers team responded to Imus' boorishness with class. That was short-lived.
When the team appeared on Oprah Winfrey's show, they jumped the shark. It's not that going on the show to discuss the matter was a problem; it's what they said that was so silly.
For example, basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer said:
"Not only did he steal our dreams, he hurt our character of Rutgers University, our state, and all who have been associated."
Really?
Imus stole their dreams?
What an absolutely ridiculous thing to say!
I understand how painful his words must have been. They were cruel and degrading and hateful.
However, I could not accept the premise that Imus did irreparable damage to the players, Rutgers University, the state of New Jersey, and everyone associated.
I still don't.
It's been four months since Imus uttered the "nappy-headed hos" remark. Kia Vaughn, a player on the team, hasn't managed to get over what idiot Imus said on his low-rated show.
The shattered Vaughn is suing Imus.
NEW YORK -- A member of the Rutgers women's basketball team sued Don Imus and CBS on Tuesday, claiming the radio personality's sexist and racist comments about the team damaged her reputation.
Kia Vaughn filed the lawsuit alleging slander and defamation of character in state Supreme Court in the Bronx the same day Imus settled with CBS Radio in a deal that pre-empts his threatened $120 million breach-of-contract lawsuit against CBS. The settlement allows him to make a comeback bid at a new station.
Vaughn's lawsuit, believed to be the first by a player in the case, says Imus and his former co-host Bernard McGuirk, along with CBS Corp. and CBS Radio, are legally responsible for damage done to her character and reputation. There is no dollar amount listed in the suit.
Vaughn was humiliated, embarrassed and publicly mocked for the comments, the lawsuit claims. Her attorney, Richard Ancowitz, said: "The full effect of the damage remains to be seen."
"This is about Kia Vaughn's good name," Ancowitz said. "She would do anything to return to her life as a student and respected basketball player — a more simple life before Imus opened his mouth on April 4."
WHAT???
Come on.
Back in April, the team's coach referred to her players this way: "These young ladies before you are valedictorians, future doctors, musical prodigies."
Obviously, they're extremely talented women.
They are intelligent and they have the ability to go far.
Are we supposed to believe that Don Imus had the power to take that all away from them?
Again, Imus is an idiot. His statement about the Rutgers women was horrible.
I just don't buy that any of the women on the team, including Vaughn, are so weak that an idiot like Imus could crush them.
That's giving Imus much more power than he has.
I don't care if Vaughn succeeds in getting money from Imus or the others mentioned in the suit. The slimy Imus deserves whatever punishment he gets.
Maybe Vaughn's teammates will join in the suit. Maybe the matter will be settled out of court.
Again, I'm not on Imus' side here, but doesn't this comment from Vaughn's lawyer sound crazy?
"This is about Kia Vaughn's good name," Ancowitz said. "She would do anything to return to her life as a student and respected basketball player — a more simple life before Imus opened his mouth on April 4."
Vaughn "would do anything to return to her life as a student and respected basketball player."
What's stopping her?
Really.
14 comments:
Kia Vaughn will not see a dime and will make a mockery of what has already become a media circus continue. Get Al Sharpton involved and you will see a real mess.
Kia Vaughn and her attorney may be paying for CBS, MSNBC and Imus's attorney if it even gets that far.
Bruce from Florida
you dont see how it hurt the state of new jersy? you obviously dont live here. us "New Joisyians" have alot of pride in our state. we do so much to stick out from our so-called big brother and neighboring state of new york that it's not even funny. We only have 1 basketball team(which soon will be in brooklyn),a hockey team and a few major ncaa division 1 sports teams.
What is my garden state known for? crime and more crime. organized crime,petty thug crime,violent criminals acts,etc. When most people think of new jersey they think of fast talking hustlers and bootleg everything's!
So when the women of rutgers were having such a great season(and making just about every person from my age group from nj happy)and the old a$$ flabby skin turkey neck imus had to up and ruin it,you damnn right he disrespected the entire state of nj. Got damn right!
all we wanted was something to be proud of that the whole world could see. Something that could represent us in a positive way for a change. But no! we couldn't even have that,could we?
like I said, you have to live here to have a better understanding of what i'm talking about. Your just on the outside looking in.
I hope Kia Vaughn does get paid. Sh*t imus did! I hope Kia and the rest of the rutgers women's basketball team get to split that big paycheck imus received for a so-called "breach of contract".
When you cast a stone into a pack of jackals, you can tell which one you hit by the yowlping. Ms. Vaughn, as the only member of the team to have spoken out, to have been "shattered," and now to have filed suit, would seem to be the one who's yowlping.
I guess she's embarassed to be outed as the nappy-headed ho from da Bronx. But just as likely, she sees dollar signs and the prospect of sitting home, doing nothing useful, and having more money than she would ever make by working.
If I had a dollar for every time I've been called a whore (or some variation) when expressing my opinion on this blog or elsewhere on the Internet, I would have a nice chunck of change by now.
Miguel, if you think "New Joisyians" suffered significant damages because of what Imus said, then I think Wisconsin, and Milwaukee in particular, has a case against Laverne and Shirley.
Wow! Get over it. Its as bad as the Judge suing for his pants.I think Imus had the best show going with all types of news, music and gags. Miss my early early morning with Imus. Get him back and don't watch him if what he says disturbs you.Lainey
Wow, I never knew her name before today or that she had a bad reputation.....well she does now
Kia get over it you have your good name, no one knew who you were before you were called a nappy headed ho and now its over, he said he was sorry to you in person, also if you go down this path you will only prove he was right
I think Vaughn is doing more damage to her name by suing Imus than Imus did to her with his stupid, SELF-DESTRUCTIVE remark.
I'm not a fan of Imus and I think he was wrong in what he said. I also respect the way that the Rutgers team handeled themselves except for not denouncing Sharpton when he had to inflame the situation. Imus appologised and I believe that he was sincere. The man lost his job which I think was out of line, repremand yes, fire no. National embarresment goes a long way to humble a person.
But this law suite only makes Vaughn look like Imus was partially correct in that she is a "money grubbing" HO!!!
Vaughn does NOT deserve to be called racist or sexist slurs because she's suing Imus.
That said, I do think that she's making a big mistake by bringing the law suit.
Yeah, but suing would prove his point and prove him correct since a "ho" by definition screws people for money.
The team handled themselves wiht aplomb and grace. Kia's actions cancel that right out, because now everyone is waiting for the rest of the pack to move in for a piece of the kill. Coach Stringer, from what I have read, is pissed off as she did not know about Kia's latest stunt...it draws negative attention to a school and team that should be gearing up for another successful season.
Falwell vs. Flynt. Falwell was skewered by name and lost on appeal due to that silly little First Amendment. She will lose, and then her "good name" will be just a memory and she will never recover.
This is just a very bad call on so many levels.
Vaughn should drop the suit.
I really think that would be best for her.
Kia Vaughn has done more to damage Rutger womens basketball than Imus ever could have. What a bunch of welfare babies!
Filing a frivolous lawsuit to soothe your "now" hurt feelings is a fraud.
Get a job. Or, do they not teach that at Rutgers?
Why would you refer to the entire Rutgers women's basketball team as "welfare babies"?
This isn't an audition to take over where Imus left off.
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