Imus Suspended, but Only for Two Weeks

NEW YORK (CNN) -- MSNBC and CBS Radio are suspending Don Imus for two weeks after the host described the Rutgers University women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos," the networks announced Monday.

A suspension was certainly in order; I'm just not sure that two weeks is enough. The entire conversation about the Rutgers women's basketball team was not only racist, it was sexist. More importantly, it was hardly an isolated incident. Imus and his crew have a history of racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, and homophobia. They've likened the Williams sisters to animals, called the "Jewish management" at CBS "money-grubbing bastards," and have consistently used slurs to refer to African Americans, Arabs, gays, and lesbians, among others. Dan Patrick today on his radio show asked if future guests on the Imus show would face guilt by association; I would ask the same question about past guests.

Making a fuss about the Rutgers basketball incident without looking at the Imus show's entire body of work may be a mistake. On the other hand, I would argue that Imus's comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team are even more offensive than his usual fare. As I've already mentioned, what Imus said was both racist and sexist. But what bothers me the most about his remarks is that they were directed toward a group of amateur athletes who worked extremely hard to reach the championship in their sport and did nothing to provoke such an attack.