NEW YORK
On the same day Don Imus settled a lawsuit with CBS Radio after being fired for making sexist and racist comments about the Rutgers women’s basketball team, his legal troubles with one of the players began.
Kia Vaughn filed a slander and defamation of character lawsuit Tuesday in state Supreme Court in the Bronx the same day Imus settled with CBS Radio in a deal that pre-empts his threatened $120 million breach-of-contract lawsuit against CBS.
Vaughn’s lawsuit, believed to be the first by a player in the case, says Imus and his former co-host Bernard McGuirk along with CBS Corp., CBS Radio, MSNBC and other media outlets that broadcast his show are legally responsible for damage done to her character and reputation. There is no dollar amount listed in the suit.
Vaughn’s attorney, Richard Ancowitz, said, “The full effect of the damage remains to be seen.”
“This is about Kia Vaughn’s good name,” Ancowitz said. “She would do anything to return to her life as a student and respected basketball player a more simple life before Imus opened his mouth.”
Imus referred to the basketball players as “nappy-headed hos” on his nationally syndicated radio program April 4 and became the target of heated protests led by the Rev. Al Sharpton. He was fired shortly after. But he overcame a major hurdle in his widely expected comeback with the settlement Tuesday. It’s possible he will return to the air.
