NAACP’s Double Standard Concerning Don Imus and Isaiah Washington Firings

The Associated Press reported Thursday that the executive director of the NAACP’s Hollywood bureau is displeased with “Grey’s Anatomy” star Isaiah Washington being fired for making anti-gay slurs.

Yet, the NAACP was strongly in favor of Don Imus being terminated by CBS and MSNBC in April for his statements concerning the Rutgers women’s basketball team.

Double standard? You be the judge.

This is what the AP reported today concerning Washington (h/t NB reader Shawn Pecze, emphasis added):

If he's being let go because of that incident, I'm not sure the punishment fits the crime," said Vic Bullock, executive director of the Hollywood bureau of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The NAACP has asked ABC for "further clarity," Bullock said.

Yet, this was the NAACP’s view on Imus (emphasis added):

The NAACP commends CBS and MSNBC for removing Don Imus from their networks and also recognizes that further action is needed to eradicate such hurtful speech from our popular culture.

"The announcement by CBS and MSNBC that they will no longer carry Don Imus' show is a welcome first step in removing this scourge from the airwaves," said NAACP National Board of Directors Chairman Julian Bond.

It appears that the NAACP isn’t quite as appalled by the F-word as it is the H-word. That should be refreshing to gay rights groups around the country.