Sid Rosenberg Issues Limited Apology for Calling Williams Sisters ANIMALS Who Should Be BANNED From Women's Sports - VenusSerenaElle.jpg (0/1)
LikesNaomi
Posted to alt.fan.don-imus June 12,2001
Sid Rosenberg, Imus in the Morning sportscaster, apologized ONLY for
offending anybody when he called Venus and Serena Williams ANIMALS who
should be BANNED from playing on the women's tennis tour. Rosenburg
made his outrageous statements on the June 5, 2001 Imus in the Morning
show broadcast on WFAN radio and MSNBC cable.
An outdated CBS webpage about Rosenberg says "... the main reason Sid
is so popular with the fans of "The Drive" is due to his outrageous
sense of humor. Always walking the proverbial tightrope between
irreverence and just plain bad taste, Sid shocks-but always with a
wink and a grin."
But Rosenberg's limited apology did not say he was just trying to be
outrageous. Rosenberg only admitted his remarks were "inappropriate."
Sid Rosenberg never winked and grinned when he called the Williams
sisters ANIMALS who should be BANNED from competing with other women.
Rosenberg adamantly defended his position and said they DISGUSTED him.
Monteria Ivey and Stephan Dweck, an African-American sportscaster team
appearing irregularly on Imus in the Morning, meekly accepted
Rosenberg's precisely limited apology and only suggested that
Rosenberg write a letter of apology to the Williams sisters. Imus
declared Rosenberg non-racist and re-hired him. Perhaps the Iman has
become aware this controversy will follow him for a while and is
trying to make Sid Rosenburg look harmless. I was very disappointed in
the Iman. Charles McCord also quickly agreed that full and sufficent
contriteness had been expressed.
I hope Venus and Serena return the letter unopened because:
1) Sid Rosenberg NEVER said he was just joking for controversial humor
to bolster ratings.
2) Sid Rosenburg NEVER said he did not mean what he said.
3) Sid Rosenberg DID NOT revoke his association of the word ANIMALS
with Venus and Serena Williams.
4) Sid Rosenburg DID NOT say he was just kidding that Serena and Venus
should be BANNED from playing on the women's tour.
5) Sid Rosenburg DID NOT acknowledge his words were mean, vicious and
sounded extremely racist. All Sid Rosenburg did was characterize his
words as "inapropriate" and apologize for offending anybody - he
never came close to denying a sinister intent lurked behind them.
The transcript is:
Sid Rosenburg: "Let me JUST SAY THIS, I want to extend my most sincere
apologies to Venus and Serena Williams and to anybody else out there
that I may have offended by my remarks last week. I am not the type
of guy that says things that are laced with any hatred or bias.
Unfortunately last week things got a little out of hand, and, like I
said I'm sincerely sorry about it. My intention was not to hurt
anybody, embarrass anybody, and I realized pretty quickly, maybe even
seconds after, that what I said was not appropriate , and ALL I'M
GOING TO SAY is once again is that my nature is not to be a
mean-spirited person and certainly not to embarass or humiliate
anybody and I want to extend my apologies to anybody out there that
may have been offended by what I said last week."
Don Imus: "I got the feeling in talking to you last week that you
weren't expressing any deep-held racist views about black people being
an inferior species or in fact the Williams sisters being an inferior
species, but I thought it was ironic that on the day you were kidding
around, apparently, and suggesting that both Venus and Serena should
not be allowed to play on the womens tour, Jennifer Capriati, on her
way to win the French Open, whooped up on Serena. ... I did talk to
Monteria and Stephan just to get their view on what they thought your
true sentiments were, and they have pretty good antennae, they may
have a better antennae about those kind of things than I do, and I
don't want you to have to come in here and grovel, you've apologized
... and so I'd like to have you back on the program."
Rosenberg did not recant his statements nor explain any rationale for
them - he just said he was sorry anybody was offended that he said the
Williams sisters were ANIMALS who should be BANNED from women's
competition.
Sid Rosenburg remains the smirking embodiment of an Afrikander
sportscaster in the Apartheid of the last century. Like the Boers,
Rosenberg is just unable to fathom the grotesquery of his attitude
that an African ancestry is so inferior to his ancestry that it can be
cavalierly termed ANIMAL.
Venus Williams signed the richest endorsement deal for ANY FEMALE
ATHLETE with Reebok. Venus and Serena were on the cover of the
fashion magazine Elle and are the first spokespersons ever for the
famous Avon products
Perhaps Reebok would like to know more about Sid Rosenberg's demand
that Venus and Serena Williams should be BANNED from competing with
women. Perhaps Avon and Wilsons Leather would like to hear about Sid
Rosenberg's public pronouncement of their representatives as ANIMALS.
Rosenberg could recover from his blantant stance which appears as
simple but virulent racism if he would also publicly name several
strong Caucasian women whom he considers ANIMALS.
His apology letter to Venus and Serena and its public reading on the
national airwaves naming several Caucasian female ANIMALS who should
be BANNED from competition with women would be an appropriate
platform. Then we would know he is adverse to all strong, athletic
women and not just strong, athletic African-American women. Sid
Rosenberg is certainly entitled to his private opinion and beauty is
in the eye of the beholder but SID ROSENBERG SHOULD BE SUBJECTED TO
PROTEST when he uses the public airwaves to expose us to his
thinly-veiled racist opinions. No one cares what you think Mr.
Rosenberg - but if its mean and unsavory, we just don't want to hear
it.
Submit your protest about Sid Rosenberg to WTA, Reebok, Avon, Wilsons
Leather, MSNBC, and WFAN.
A picture of the Elle Magazine cover with Venus and Serena Williams in
jpeg format (size 56.3kb) is attached.
-Old Republican (from Barry Goldwater to George Bush) in Los Angeles
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Search Yahoo for "Venus Williams Reebok" to find news items such as:
"The Reebok-Venus Williams deal more than doubled the much publicized
Adidas-Anna Kournikova deal worth a reported $3 million annually."
"Venus Williams signs richest endorsement deal with Reebok"
"NEW YORK (AP) --Venus Williams, who won two Grand Slam singles titles
and two Olympic gold medals this year, signed what is believed to be
the richest endorsement deal for any female athlete Thursday with
Reebok International. Terms were not announced but the deal was
reported to be worth $40 million for five years."
"December 21, 2000 PRNewswire From Reebok International"
"Reaffirming a strategic commitment to aligning its brand with a
select few of the world's most talented, exciting and cutting-edge
athletes, Reebok International Ltd. today announced it has signed
tennis superstar Venus Williams to a multi-year contract extension
believed to be the most lucrative and comprehensive endorsement deal
ever created for a female athlete. Today's ceremonial signing of the
unprecedented contract at a press conference at the Reebok Sports
Club/New York marked a historic moment for women's sports."
... "As Reebok's preeminent global personality, Venus will be marketed
in major regions around the world. Reebok will highlight Venus' style,
success and confident persona in its new global brand campaign, "Defy
Convention," scheduled to launch on Super Bowl Sunday, January 28,
2001."
"December 22, 2000 Business Wire From Wilsons Leather"
"Wilsons Leather, the largest specialty retailer of leather apparel
and accessories in the United States, has announced that it has signed
on world renowned tennis star, Venus Williams, to create her own line
of leather products, which will primarily consist of apparel for each
of the Spring and Fall seasons. ... "Venus is both a top athlete in
her sport and a beautiful woman representing grace, skill and
success," said Joel Waller, CEO of Wilsons Leather."
"December 15, 2000 PRNewswire From Avon Products"
"Avon Products, Inc. today announced that it has signed world-famous
tennis champions, Venus Williams and Serena Williams, to an exclusive
three-year global advertising and promotional agreement. ... "Venus
and Serena are wonderful role models for young women all over the
world," said Janice Spector, vice president of advertising for Avon.
"Their winning spirit and dedication to being their best is a perfect
fit with Avon's heritage of empowering women to strive for their own
goals and aspirations. ... the sisters will be the first spokespersons
ever for the cosmetics company, and only the second time ever an
athlete has endorsed a cosmetics company."
"Sources said the multi-year, multi-million dollar agreement will
feature the sisters in TV commercials, print ads and other promotions
for the company known for its direct sales force called "Avon
ladies.""
"The Williams sisters are on quite a roll. Earlier this month, Venus,
the reigning U.S. Open and Wimbledon champion, signed a five-year, $40
million deal with Reebok and another with Wilsons Leather, an apparel
chain. Venus will be spokeswoman for Wilsons' design lines and retail
stores. The Reebok deal represents the most lucrative single deal ever
for a woman athlete."
"The Reebok-Venus Williams deal more than doubled the much publicized
Adidas-Anna Kournikova deal worth a reported $3 million annually."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reebok International Ltd.
PO Box 1060
Ronks, PA 17573
Reebok e-mail addresses are difficult to find - Perhaps these
receipients will forward messages appropriately.
Kitty.C...@reebok.com
ree...@qualitycustomercare.com
"We've built a Human Rights Program to lead us in developing socially
responsible business practices. We were the first corporation in our
industry to pull out of South Africa in 1986 in support of the
anti-apartheid movement and are founding members of Business for
Social Responsibility."
Business for Social Responsibility
609 Mission Street, 2nd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105-3506 USA
Phone (415) 537 0888 Fax (415) 537 0889
Webmaster mailto:webm...@bsr.org
Gloria McKenna
The Bridge Group
425 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212.213.1787
Fax: 212.213.2586
Email: glo...@aol.com
Anne van Schooneveld (Network Manager)
Business for Social Responsibility
609 Mission Street, 2nd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105-3506
Tel: 415.537.0888 x 141
Fax: 415.537.0889
Email: avansch...@bsr.org
"The Women's Sports Foundation applauds Reebok for its longtime
commitment to women's sports. There is no doubt that this endorsement
agreement with Venus Williams represents the largest such commitment
to any female athlete,” stated Donna Lopiano, PH.D., Executive
Director, Women’s Sports Foundation. “This is an important precedent
for women's sports that announces a new era in the corporate valuing
of the female athlete."
"The Women's Sports Foundation is located in Nassau County, N.Y.
Women's Sports Foundation"
Eisenhower Park
East Meadow, NY 11554
1-800-227-3988 (U.S. only)
1-516-542-4700 (Business)
1-516-542-4716 (Fax)
wos...@aol.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sanex Womens Tennis Association
eMail: gen...@sanexwta.com
Sanex WTA Tour Offices:
Corporate Headquarters
Telephone: 1-203-978-1740
Fax: 1-203-978-1702
1266 East Main Street, 4th Floor
Stamford, Connecticut
06902-3546 USA
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I am a reporter and would like to interview someone at Avon. Whom
should I contact? Please contact the following individuals for these
particular topics (subjects): "
Financial
Vic Beaudet
212/282-5344
victor....@avon.com
Women's Programs (i.e. Avon Breast Cancer Awareness Crusade, Breast
Cancer 3-day Walk, Women of Enterprise)
Susan Heaney
212/282-7107
susan....@avon.com
Avon Sales Representatives
Laura Castellano
212/282-5345
laura.ca...@avon.com
Products (Beauty and Beauty Plus)
Debbie Coffey
212/282-7103
debora...@avon.com
Corporate Programs (i.e. Avon Running Global Womens Circuit, Women of
Enterprise)
Aldina Tracey
212/282-7108
aldina...@avon.com
Avon Centre
Kimberly Porter
212/310-6308
kimberl...@avon.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Contact Us - Wilsons Leather appreciates your feedback, and welcomes
your questions. Please do not hesitate to contact us! "
Email: custom...@wilsonsleather.com
Telephone:(800)236-9976
24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Address: Wilsons Leather
Location 4000
7401 Boone Avenue North
Brooklyn Park, MN 55428
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
www.larryelder.com
la...@larryelder.com
im...@msnbc.com
morni...@msnbc.com
hard...@msnbc.com
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Original Post to alt.fan.don-imus June 5, 2001
Sid Rosenberg, Imus Sportscaster, Calls Venus and Serena Williams
ANIMALS!!! The Iman Castigates Rosenberg.
Sid Rosenberg, announcing sports on Imus in the Morning, MSNBC, June
5, 2001, referred to Venus and Serena Williams as ANIMALS, obliquely
referring to their musculature. Jennifer Capriati has larger biceps
than Serena and Lindsey Davenport could probably trounce Venus in a
match of muscle. But does Sid Rosenberg call them ANIMALS? Does Sid
Rosenberg refer to blonde women as ANIMALS if they exceed similar
standards of musculature? Does Sid Roseberg imply a particular African
animal should be associated with these two very nice and popular
African-American women who are attractive enough to be featured on
teen and fashion magazine covers? What would be the prospects for Sid
Rosenberg if he made his comments to the face of Richard Williams,
their father? Does anyone doubt the claims of Richard Williams when
people like Sid Rosenberg attend a tennis match? If Sid Rosenberg has
the temerity to make this statement on national television, what does
he speak in private? A question with an obvious answer.
Imus promptly put Rosenberg on the spot for this mean and vicious word
association with Venus and Serena. Rosenberg tried to explain his
words - but his inner mind stood revealed. Dick Cavett said well,
animals are cute; Dick Cavett is so tasteless and self-absorbed that
he thinks we want to hear about his fantasies with Botswana issues of
the National Geographic magazine. Charles McCord, if he were there,
would express outrage at this form of expression. Mike Breen would
never even form this association of words. Warner Wolf is always
cordial. What was your position Bernard McGuirk? Sid Rosenberg is an
unfortunate anomaly. Has any other national sportscaster associated
specific women with animals?
Sid Rosenberg went on to say that he refuses to report on the French
Open and denigrated the highly regarded tennis commentator Bud
Collins. Rosenberg has no concept of the skill, grace and athleticism
of the world's top tennis players.
Imus stopped Rosenberg saying the show is sometimes criticized for
comments such as this. Imus then wished Rosenberg good luck in finding
a new job. Imus always seems to do it right. He was pleasant to
Rosenberg but firm in implying his word associations were just too
crude and offensive and his duties as sports announcer on the Imus
show were no longer needed.
Satire, humor and caricature have their place and are a hallmark of
the Imus show, but calling these two women ANIMALS reveals Sid
Rosenberg as mean and vicious with no sense of decent public
conversational standards. Sid Rosenberg deserves the same oblivion as
the golfer Fuzzy Zoeller who made the infamous Tiger Woods remark. Are
Rosenberg and Zoeller two peas from the same pod? They think they are
clever but despoil public discourse and are an embarrassment to
gentlemen and gentlewomen.
MSNBC (channel 60 on Adelphia in Los Angeles) is the most informative
and entertaining channel and Imus in the Morning is the top show - in
my humble opinion. For new viewers, Imus is noted for calling someone
a no-good rotten person for comedic effect and controversy but then
recanting saying well, I actually like the person and winds up
proclaiming them a fine decent human being. This provides us all with
catharsis about a particular issue and then balances the act by
reaffirming the worth of the person. Perhaps Sid Rosenberg was also
just attempting controversy but his recanting was ineffective and only
came in response to the thinly veiled anger of the Iman for sullying
his show. The Iman is inimitable.
-Old Republican (from Barry Goldwater to George Bush) in Los Angeles
Ron Hardin
That's what makes me, for instance, unique: when a call to help is addressed to me.
I am not replaceable as of that moment.
Black people get dignity as when they do something to help, for instance, white
people. That's just how dignity works. Try it.
It comes one at a time, and it comes right away.
The opposite is being a clown. This is material for
a bit, and it's often used (``no justice no peace'' is a common Bernard line. He's
satirizing this opposite.)
So you're doing exactly the opposite of what you should. A perversity that's a trap,
that feeds on itself.
--
Ron Hardin
rhha...@mindspring.com
On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.
Pat Alder
can't escort you off the premises.
Pat Alder
"LikesNaomi" <imus...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:aj6citgrhvtuq1fpn...@4ax.com...
Pat Alder
time Imus baiter, hater. I recognize the same tired " Imus is a racist..."
BS I've heard before.
Guy's an idiot...
Pat Alder
"Ron Hardin" <rhha...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:3B2685...@mindspring.com...
WorldWideSmile
>Everyone...the majorly long post is from none other than Phil Nobile, long
>time Imus baiter, hater. I recognize the same tired " Imus is a racist..."
>BS I've heard before.
>
>Guy's an idiot...
>
>Pat Alder
```````````
Phil's ramblings are hard to mistake.
Some hobby, huh? His life's work.
Terry Irving warned me years ago to watch what I said to Phillip Nobile....that
my name could wind up in print, with him as author.
Sheesh.
Liza
``````````````
>"Ron Hardin" <rhha...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
>news:3B2685...@mindspring.com...
>> You know, people get dignity only from doing things for other people.
>>
>> That's what makes me, for instance, unique: when a call to help is
>addressed to me.
>> I am not replaceable as of that moment.
>>
>> Black people get dignity as when they do something to help, for instance,
>white
>> people. That's just how dignity works. Try it.
>>
>> It comes one at a time, and it comes right away.
>>
>> The opposite is being a clown. This is material for
>> a bit, and it's often used (``no justice no peace'' is a common Bernard
>line. He's
>> satirizing this opposite.)
>>
>> So you're doing exactly the opposite of what you should. A perversity
>that's a trap,
>> that feeds on itself.
>> --
>> Ron Hardin
>> rhha...@mindspring.com
>>
>> On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
Liza
ellipsis