Nearly a year after her program was engulfed in the controversy that followed Don Imus' remarks about Rutgers' women's basketball team, coach C. Vivian Stringer bluntly questioned the sincerity of his publicly stated regrets.
In an interview with HBO's "Real Sports'' that will debut Monday, Stringer had this to say when asked for a reaction to Imus' return to radio:
"I didn't make a judgment. I mean, he has a right to earn a living.
"You know, this has been a long year. Things were stolen. And the culprit hasn't reached out at one point at any time to say, 'Boo. I'm thinking about you,' or, 'Thank you for helping me to give thought to myself.'
"He has said that publicly, so I'm told. But is that the way you do things? Do you just get on the air and say, 'Gee, I'm going to be a better person.' So, how sincere was it?"
(UPDATE: Thanks for asking for clarification, Charlie Chilkoot. Indeed, this is not CVS. I figured it would be more interesting to post a picture of Essence Carson, who did so well as the unofficial team spokeswoman last April.)
Comments (17)
i told you imus was a phony. and by the way that ranch is just a elabrate retirement home. he hides behind children who are sick. makes like he does good,he is full of it.
Neil,
You say you cannot keep up with Imus any longer yet you post Imus related articles about him granted its a HBO Real Sports piece but by keeping his name out there its giving him unjustified publicity positive or negative. Imus is a insignificant piece of human waste today as he was twenty years ago. Mainstream media passed Imus a very long time ago the train has left the station.
Step off the stage ASAP Vivian Stringer.
Your 15 minutes of fame are over.
Absolutely no one is interested in your thoughts or comments regarding non basketball matters.
Just another in the long line of constantly aggreived, professional
victims that abound in far too many aspects of our society.
neil,black history month is febuary
I see Stringer is up to the usual, "Iam Victim" approach to selling books. If she wasn't such a sad hypocrite she might be worth rooting for. Rutgers can't lose enough.
From MOTHER JONES magazine:
"In my interview with Don Imus last Wednesday, I finally got around to talking about something I rarely get to - black immigrants. More on that in a minute.
It's amazing how much we fawn over Senator Obama's being 'black' without displaying any interest in that blackness, as if being a half-Kenyan mostly ex-pat tells us all we need to know about him. All that's interesting. That's what I was trying to get at generally in my book, The End of Blackness, and in this infamous piece. I finally got to it on, of all places, the Don Imus show.
That interview with Imus was so unbelievable, you simply have to listen to it. Here's part 1 and part 2.
Damned if Imus hasn't been doing yeoman's work in moving America's neurotic race obsession forward. I've been talking and writing about race for 12 years now, but I was gobsmacked on the air. Imus schooled a sister. When he said he was through apologizing for Rutgers, I took that to mean he was through talking about it. But he's certainly not through thinking about it, and he's been doing his homework.
Usually, people have me on for conversations that go like this: "I'd really like to know what you think about X race topic." [I attempt to address the question]. "Uh, excuse me, I don't mean to interrupt and I really want to know what you think, but what I think is _." Then the person orates for a long time on the dusty, pre-conceived, self-justifying notion they (black or white, liberal or conservative) have no intention of changing. The 'question' always turns out to be, "Haven't I just brilliantly ended the whole race thing?"
With rare exceptions, I've long known I'm invited on by "enemies" (liberals and conservatives, blacks and whites) as a mere visual aid "proving" their open-mindedness. I might as well be wearing an evening gown, smiling and vamping in the background like Vanna White. I'm just window dressing for a soliloquy. All I can do is hope that somewhere in the audience someone is actually listening, and will actually go back and read what I said and might have talked about if allowed to.
Print interviews with 'liberal' black journalists (they're really quite conservative; you must be black in exactly the way they demand) are the worst. They already 'know' I'm a Tom and talking to me serves two purposes, none of them reportorial: it proves they're 'objective' even though nothing I say or write ever makes a difference and it gives them fodder to dine out on with the other 'real' black people. "You wouldn't believe how self-hating she is." They call me names but they don't engage in actual debate. Kneejerk doesn't begin to cover it. Don seems to have done the impossible and moved beyond that."
--- Debra Dickerson
neil,you are really catching on, good work,i would suggest you go see the h.r. dept for a raise.
Thanks, EAL. Alas, there is a big of a problem in the newspaper industry these days that might preclude the strategy you suggest.
sam just gave the approval,just for you though.
Neil, while I thought Imus was wrong picking on her players, they have no way to "fight" back. There was no way he should have ever been fired. Can anyone not related or friends with the players even name one? Outside of the women's basketball world, no one can, which why the defamation suit failed. They could not prove they were defamed. He was wrong for saying it, but enough. And there is no bigger phony than Ms. Stringer, herself. Tell Ms. Stringer, what was your loss? If anything your program gained free notariety.
Thanks to Don Imus, Vivian Stringer's 800th victory made the sports reports around the country, and allowed for a segment on the win on "Nightline" just the other day. No one would otherwise have known Stringer. Thanks to the incident, Rutgers has had the best recruiting class in its women's basketball program history.
In his time back from exile, Imus has done more to improve race relations than Vivian Stringer could even dream of.
Truth be told, she can whine all she wants, but out of anyone involved in this entire ordeal, it is she who gained the most out of all of this, including a mammoth raise in her salary. Suddenly, however, she's become a poster child for the oppressed.
Neil, if you ever have free time -- I am sure you have plenty of it these days...kidding) -- listen to some of the Imus audio on imustruth.com. If he isn't a changed man, I don't know who is. Her comments, to me, seem baseless.
Your illustrations are always thought provoking and frequently stimulating. However, this time I think my thought is you have used the wrong picture because I don't think that is C.
Neil,
Let's bring this "race" issue a little closer to home.
I am still awaiting someone (besides my own EXCORIATING comment to him) to take Newsday's own Mark Herrmann to task for his interview of the Isles' Kyle Okposo in January.
The interview and subsequent article was underlined with racial overtones for reasons that are known only to Herrmann.
"What's it like being a black hockey player.....?"
"Have you encountered racial issues in your hockey career..."
And so on.
It was apparent to me that Herrman WAS TRYING to make race an issue ,,,,,,,
The kid grew up in Minnesota Nice.....where race is all about finish lines....what Mark did in the interview WAS A DISGrace.
While it is possible to understand Mrs. Stringer's cynicism, one has to wonder if she has listened to "the new IITM." He has made the effort that was not made last spring by any of the critics - to start a national conversation on racism. He said "he wanted to stay in touch with the Lady Scarlet Knights, but we have not heard from him" (paraphrased). IMO, Kia Vaughn put an end to that conversation when she sued. Perhaps it is time to move on.
Neil,
What no more Erin Andrews quotes? What were you thinking bringing up anything Imus? Well at least you know for the future if you are lagging behind Bullet Bobby G. in page views for the month you can always play the Imus card if need be.
New Cheer for Rutgers fans.
More wins ------ Books Later ----- More wins ------- Books Later
Memo to Coach Stringer:
Worry a little more about your day job and getting results there, a little less about being a professional victim.
More importantly learn to say "no comment' when asked about anything non basketball related.
That two word phrase could spare the rest of us from your sanctimonious piety.
Enough, just shut up.