Don Imus: Brett Bardwell

When it comes to the topic of Don Imus there are some different thoughts I have about him. Obviously, his comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team were completely close-minded and reckless without thought. What is more frustrating to me, though, is that people like this are in the positions that they are in. He as somewhat of a well respected radio host on a national radio station. How does someone who is capable of saying things like this have a microphone in front of him talking to a large group of people? I understand that anybody could say any random thing when they have a microphone in front of them, but he was around for so long that I highly doubt that this was the first touchy thing that he had done or said. It was good that he handled the situation well afterwards, apologizing and owning up to his comments, but obviously the comments should have never been made in the first place. It is also understandable at times that people say things that may sound bad but are not intended that way, but there was no mistake about his comments. He knew what he was saying and, at the time, felt no remorse about it. I do not think that racism is something that can be immediately terminated and, unfortunately, probably never will in the future. That is why it should be extremely important for companies to have over-extensive background checks on people that they are going to hire. When you are giving someone the power of a microphone you have to have absolute trust that this person is going to represent your company or station appropriately. Although nobody is responsible for what was said other than Imus himself, I do feel that these companies could do a better job of monitoring their employees and maybe get a sense of these things coming and stop them before they go on the air.