Simple Living Isn’t Always

“He’s come out smelling like quite the rose. But what about these young women? How does Imus’ victory affect their self-esteem? Where do they go to get their reputations back?”

I am not an Imus fan. He’s always been a mean man, a pseudo-cowboy who dealt meanness like movie cowboys deal lead. But the above quote takes the cake. It comes from Rutgers center Kia Vaughn’s lawyer, and is quoted in this article at ABCNews.com. Vaughn is seeking “unspecified monetary damages” from shock-jock Don Imus and his former broadcasters. The suit intends to “restore the good name and reputation of [Vaughn]” which was undermined by the much-publicized comment about her and her teammates earlier this year.

Experts in litigation suggest she has a pretty good case. Which means that our litigious society now wants to punish for bad form, for politically incorrect speech, to the tune of millions of dollars. It boggles the mind.

Let’s review the case: Imus used a racial slur on his radio show the morning after the women’s NCAA basketball championship. The speech police closed in with startling speed. Imus apologized, on air and in person, then was suspended, then cancelled, all in about a week. The Rutgers teammates, on the other hand, were catapulted into the limelight more than any championship basketball team could expect. And it will probably happen again, now that Imus has settled with his former employers and may return to radio. Still, one player is ready to cash in on the scandal.

As I understand it, slander and libel typically inhibits a person’s ability to make a living (socially and financially). But the above quote lamenting lost or damaged “reputations” ignores the fact that the mainstream media crucified Imus and beatified the players. I suspect that Vaughn and the other players could leverage their fame into any number of opportunities, and indeed, they already have. They landed on every network morning show, they appeared on Oprah, they were the talk of the nation for far more than the designated “fifteen minutes” and to almost universal acclaim. Their coach, Vivian Stringer, has a book deal and quite a few speaking engagements. And lest we forget, Kia Vaughn is still a junior in college with her whole life ahead of her.

Imus’s reputation, on the other hand, really has taken a beating. He may work again, but in a country where Howard Stern and Opie and Anthony and Ann Coulter keep working, should we be surprised? And he cashed in from NBC because he had a valid breach-of-contract claim. But he’ll probably lose the case, and it will cost him big-time.

When Imus first made his comment, I sympathized with the players. They had shown incredible determination and athleticism, and Imus’s remarks were deplorable (though not much different from the usual shock-jock fare). Now, though, as Vaughn tries to cash in, I’m a little sad and a little frustrated by what the suit says about the state of our culture and future generations of Americans. Their sense of entitlement (unrelated to race, by the way) might mean hard work and making your own way will give way to seeking a leg up by standing on our nation’s guilty conscience.