Imus Vs. Pacman

The Commissioner did it. Goodell suspended Titans Cornerback, Adam "Pacman" Jones, for the entire '07 season. He also suspended Bengals Wide Reciever, Chris Henry for eight games. I know that the Commissioner needs to take a stand, but this doesn't feel right to me.

I'm going to take a break from all of the shlong jokes and sarcastic comments for this post. Between Don Imus and Pacman Jones, I am very frustrated. It is disheartening to see a group of exceptional young ladies recognized more for being called "nappy headed hos" than their accomplishments as student athletes. Don Imus has been suspended for a measly two weeks. Pacman Jones was suspended for a year. I won't defend Pacman's actions, he has fucked up on a number of occasions (I believe 10). However, he has yet to be convicted. Don Imus is also a repeat offender, having made racist and sexist comments in the past. I feel like Imus got off easy while Pacman got crucified to make an example to the rest of the league.

Pacman's conduct has tarnished the image of the NFL, but Don Imus' comments insult women and people of color. His comments feed into the ongoing cycles of racism and sexism in America. Don Imus' comments were more harmful than Pacman's misbehavior. Let me reiterate that I am not defending Pacman Jones, I am simply pointing out the racial inequalities that exist in America today. If Imus was suspended for an extended period of time or fired, I would not even be posting this. I get the feeling that the same people posting on message boards saying that Commissioner Goodell needs to "clean up the NFL and get rid of the thugs" are the same people who feel that Don Imus' comments "were just a joke".

Now that I have gotten that scatter-brained rant out of my system, I would like to get back to making jokes. With that said, here is what my buddy Dom had to say about Don Imus in an AIM conversation (all screen names were removed from the convo for privacy purposes):

Dom: have you seen what don imus looks like?
Me: Yea
Dom (4:23:18 PM): like a train wreck
Dom (4:23:27 PM): get a comb dog

Get a comb indeed.