[ChrisCantSkate]

well, freedom of speech does not mean you are not responsible for what you say, it means you CAN say it. he wont be arrested or thrown in jail, as would happen in countries who dont have freedom of speech, he just lost his job because the people above him who make decisions, who have a governing interest in the company felt it was best to not continue to bring a negative image on them. same thing happened with howard stern. and especially in the context of being a radio personality, if your boss, or owner, does not approve of what you say, then its not your right to keep your job. it is however his right and ability to fire you for anything that brings a bad image on his company, or any partner companies, such as sponsors.

its really not bending any laws or anything of the sort, people like to bend the "freedom of speech" to mean you can say whatever you want and go on without having to deal with the reaction and consequence of your words. this is not the first time nor do i think it will be the last.

i remember in the 80's or maybe even 70's a football commentator made a comment about the "monkeys" on the field and even though when he said it he didnt intend on it being racist, but rather it was a word he used to describe any group of people or individual person in the same way you would use the word "dude". it however was taken as racist, he made his apology but he was fired.

this is not imus's first offense, and with sponsors money hanging in the balance and talk of them pulling out, what other option does a legitimate business have? it sucks for him, i wont lie. but if i was the CEO of CBS would i have done the same thing? quite possibly. the risk of losing sponsors, listeners, and the bad image on the company... regardless of what his true intentions were, you cant say those things into a microphone and not expect a shitstorm from it. sorry, but from a business standpoint it makes perfect sense.

i dont think he ment it as much as its made out to be, but if you want freedom of speech, then you have to accept the penalty for what you say, ESPECIALLY when your on a public platform. there was no amendment bending, just a common misconception that "freedom of speech" means "free to say whatever you want without anyone being able to say or do anything about it".