Al Sharpton Considering Action on Don Imus Adam Jones Remarks

This morning Don Imus responded to a report on his radio show about Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam Jones' legal troubles by asking, "What color is he."

Within hours, Al Sharpton had issued this statement:

"I find the inference of his remark disturbing because it plays into stereotypes. Any use of stereotypes is always counterproductive. We will determine in the next day or so whether or not his remark warrants direct action on our part as we did in April of last year."

The action in April of last year that Sharpton refers to was his group's organized boycott of Imus and his sponsors, which eventually resulted in the cancellation of Imus in the Morning. He was off the air for several months before ABC Radio Networks brought him back late last year.

UPDATE: Don Imus says, "I meant he was being picked on because he's black".
UPDATE 2: Don Imus claims he was defending Adam "Pacman" Jones against racist cops.

Racism and Sports

Mauricia Grant, pictured here working during the Stater Bros 300 in 2006, is suing NASCAR for $225 million, alleging racial and sexual discrimination, sexual harassment and wrongful termination. Click through to see other racially charged incidents from recent sports history.

Mike Basso, US Presswire

In a newspaper nterview in April, Los Angeles Angels star Torii Hunter said he had heard racial taunts from Red Sox fans at Fenway Park in the past.

Lisa Blumenfeld, Getty Images

Kosuke Fukudome has become a sensation in his first season in Chicago, but shirts emblazoned with a stereotypical caricature of Asians and the words "Horry Kow" (a play on ex-Cubs announcer Harry Caray's home run call) offended the Japanese outfielder.

Nam Y. Huh, AP

Earlier this year Golf Channel analyst Kelly Tilghman said on air that other golfers should "lynch [Tiger Woods] in a back alley" to better compete with him. In the aftermath, Golfweek Magazine ran a cover with a hanging noose, for which editor Dave Seanor was fired.

Golfweek / AP

Radio host Don Imus caused a stir in 2007 when he referred to members of the Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos." CBS canceled his long-running show 'Imus in the Morning,' but he returned to airwaves with ABC later in the year.

Spencer Platt, Getty Images

Rush Limbaugh was hired as a commentator for ESPN's NFL pre-game show Sunday Countdown, but he lasted only a few weeks after implying that Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb received great praise mostly because he was black.

Getty Images

Former golfer and current CBS commentator Bobby Clampett made waves at this year's Masters when he referred to golfer Liang Wen-Chong as "the Chinaman" on air.

Mike Powell, Allsport / Getty Images

African soccer players, like Cameroon international Samuel Eto'o, are often the targets of racially charged taunts in Spain. Fans of Real Zaragoza made monkey-like chants at the Barcelona striker during a 2005 match, and he nearly walked off the pitch during a match against the club the next season.

Phillippe Desmazes, AFP / Getty Images

In an interview with HBO's Real Sports last summer, former Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield claimed that manager Joe Torre gave white players preferential treatment during his time in New York and said that biracial shortstop Derek Jeter wasn't "all the way black."

Mark Mainz, Getty Images

John Rocker's inflammatory comments in a 2000 Sports Illustrated article made him one of the most despised athletes in recent memory. Rocker described riding the New York subway as "looking like you're riding through Beirut next to some kid with purple hair, next to some queer with AIDS."

Matt Campbell, AFP / Getty Images