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NEW YORK (CNN) -- Hours after CBS fired him, radio host Don Imus met Thursday night with the Rutgers University women athletes whom he had ridiculed with racist and sexist comments.

The Rutgers women's basketball coach called the meeting with Imus "productive."

CBS' decision to dump Imus came a day after NBC Universal decided to cancel his TV simulcast on MSNBC cable channel and followed nearly a week of cries for the firing of the radio host.

The Rev. Al Sharpton applauded the Imus firings as a victory in the battle against abuse of the airwaves.

"I believe all of us have been deeply upset and revulsed by the statements that were made on our air," said Leslie Moonves, CBS president and chief executive officer, in a statement announcing the decision.

CBS, which carried Imus on 61 radio stations, originally had said it would suspend his show for two weeks.

CNNMoney.com reports "Imus in the Morning" generated about $20 million in revenue last year, about 1 percent of CBS Radio division's total.

The Rutgers team -- including the 10 players, their parents, coaches, administrators and religious leaders -- met with Imus at the New Jersey Governor's Mansion in Princeton.

"We were able to really dialogue," said coach C. Vivian Stringer. "I thought it was productive. I am extremely proud of our 10 young basketball members. I have been throughout this entire ordeal."

Stringer declined to talk about what was said during the meeting or the CBS decision.

Imus' wife, Deirdre, who filled in for him on a radio fundraiser Friday
morning, also attended the meeting with the basketball team.

"They gave us the opportunity to listen to what they had to say, why they are hurting, and how awful this is," she said. "I have to say that these women are unbelievably courageous and beautiful women."

She added, "The hate mail that's being sent to them must stop. This is wrong. If you want to send hate mail, send it to my husband."


Imus: 'I've apologized enough'

The outrage started last week, when Imus described the Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos" the day after the team lost the NCAA championship to the University of Tennessee.

Amid the outcry over his on-air racial slur, Imus said Thursday that he had "apologized enough" and that he will not go on "some talk-show tour."

"I'm not going to go talk to Larry King or Barbara Walters or anyone else," Imus said on his flagship station in New York, WFAN-AM, which is owned by CBS Corp. and distributed "Imus in the Morning" nationally.

"The only other people I want to talk to are these young women at the team, and then that's it," Imus said.

NBC News President Steve Capus, appearing on CNN, said Imus' comments had "touched a nerve" within the organization and firing him was "the only action we could take."

Despite being dropped by NBC, Imus hosted his show Thursday from the MSNBC studios in New Jersey, though he did not appear on TV.

"As you know, MSNBC folded up yesterday, so we're just on the radio," he said.

Imus was broadcasting his 18th annual radio charity fundraiser, which has pulled in $50 million since 1990. It ends Friday.

"This may be our last radio-thon, so we need to raise $100 million," Imus said, chuckling.

According to The Associated Press, Imus raised $1 million in the first five hours of Thursday's fundraiser.

Imus' disparaging remarks about the Rutgers players prompted eight companies to pull their ads from his show: Staples, General Motors, Sprint Nextel, GlaxoSmithKline, Procter & Gamble, PetMed Express, American Express and Bigelow Tea.


Sharpton: 'No champagne bottle popping'

Sharpton had pressured CBS to cancel Imus' morning show, but the issue "was never about Don Imus," he said Thursday.

"It was about the misuse of the airwaves," he said.

"We cannot afford a precedent established that the airwaves can be used to commercialize and mainstream sexism and racism. But there will be no champagne bottle popping by those of us involved in this. This is not about gloating."

Sharpton said he wants to show the media and the public that it is not necessary to "be misogynist and racist to be creative or to be commercial in this country."

Earlier Thursday, the father of a player on the Rutgers team joined Sharpton at a rally outside the network's offices.

Linzell Vaughn, father of sophomore center Kia Vaughn, said Imus' comments were "like a slap in the face."

"Do not disrespect our children," he said.


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Original Article: Newly fired Imus meets with Rutgers players - CNN.com

News Source: CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News

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*UPDATE*

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Thender

In which they all went back to their dorm rooms and listened to Snoop.....

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Shenandoah, American Legion Post #88 Color Guard, State Color Guard Champions for 2008 - 2009

Two in the mouth is worth one in the bush.

Bud

...and Chris Rock stand ups where he says "cracker" a hundred times.

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auroranorth

Well as long as we are talking discrimmination they have to many black playersm if we are going to do this quota thing. Fact is some goofball actually wrote to the milwaukee pa-er that rap music didnt have to obey the same rules because ut was fantasy, i dont know what this wanna be is smoking but its not a fantasy when there is a drive by and dozens of dead rappers. The people calling for this lynch mob are political oppurtunists, me i'd like to thank immu for doing this it saved me a lot of research when Obama called for his firing it told me i Dont want this clown who stands for censorship any where near the White House.