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Imus got to me

April 13, 2007

Dear Editor,

I must object to what's his face.

As a woman, I am offended. As a retired reporter I am offended. As a human being, I am offended.

Imus may be a shock jock, but he has no sense of sportsmanship.

To use such a sleazy phrase to denigrate a band of young women who had just ended a basketball season demonstrating that they are among the best of the best in women's athletics was enough to leave me with my mouth wide open in astonishment.

As the story unfolds, my astonishment continues.

No blame is going to Imus' colleague who first used the term "ho" then latched on to and made even worse. On television, whenever the story is told, you don't see pictures of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on the court, or their coach, Vivian Stringer. Well, maybe a glimpse or two. Even when the team was having its say on Rutgers' campus, there was that man in my face, and I'm sure they felt in their face.

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There is this lingering suspicion that the actual team would have had much better play in the newspapers and television if the team offended had been Ohio State's men's team.

Can you imagine what would happen in Big Blue Country if such a derogatory remark had been made about the Cats?

It's good to see that the national media and national media bigwigs by Wednesday were becoming offended. It bothers me though that they did not find the words offensive immediately, but only after "testing the waters." It obviously required a long-distance swim, not just a dip of the toe, to do that testing.

These are young women following an American dream that at one time was open only to young men - a chance to earn their college education on a sports scholarship. Through basketball they are honing skills highly prized in the world of work - team playing. The Scarlet Knights are not some group of politicians trying to get your votes. Cartoonists and pundits can pan these public figures all they want. But to submit a team of exceptional athletes to similar treatment steps outside all bounds of decency. The Scarlet Knights did only one thing. The team played exceptional basketball for a full season. Bring on the pep rally!

Anabel Girard

Danville

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