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Rutgers Player Files Civil Suit Over Nappy Comment
August 15, 2007
After reaching a settlement with former employer CBS Radio yesterday, Don Imus is now facing a civil suit from one of the Rutgers women's basketball players that he called a "nappy headed ho." Kia Vaughn, center for the Rutgers team, is living up to her self-proclaimed acronym of "Killer Instinct Always" by filing a lawsuit against Imus for libel, slander and defamation and is asking for unspecified monetary damages. The suit names Imus as well as MSNBC, NBC Universal, CBS Radio, CBS Corp., Viacom, Westwood One Radio and Imus producer Bernard McGuirk.
"This is a lawsuit in order to restore the good name and reputation of my client, Kia Vaughn," her attorney, Richard Ancowitz, told the ABC News Law & Justice Unit.
The suit refers to the terms used by Imus on his April 4 radio show as "debasing, demeaning, humiliating, and denigrating" to Vaughn and her fellow players. "There's no way these bigoted remarks should have seen the light of day," Ancowitz said. "Don Imus referred to my client as an unchaste woman. That was and is a lie."
The suit alleges that Imus' use of the slanderous terms was intentional and motivated by greed, financial gain and the desire for higher ratings. It also claims that Imus violated the players' civil rights. Ancowitz said that some of the money from any damages awarded would be used to create a scholarship program to study the effects of bigoted and misogynistic speech on society.
Ancowitz also told ABC News that the timing of the lawsuit has nothing to do with Imus' possible return to the airwaves, as he has been rumored to be soliciting interest from several media outlets. Yesterday, the Drudge Report speculated that Imus could return to the airwaves on Citadel Broadcasting's WABC/New York. However, WABC GM Steve Borneman contradicted that report to Reuters, saying, "I wish Mr. Imus well, but we are happy with our morning show (hosted by Curtis Sliwa and Ron Kuby)."
