[News] Rutgers Women's Press Conference Transcript

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April 10, 2007 Press Conference Transcribe
Rutgers Head Coach C. Vivian Stringer, Athletic 
Director Bob Mulcahy; President Richard L. McCormick

4/10/2007 6:13:46 PM

Opening statement: "I see 10 young ladies who 
have accomplished so much that we, the coaching 
staff, and the State University are proud of. 
These young ladies who sit before you are 
valedictorians of their classes, doctors, musical 
prodigies, and yes, even girl scouts. These young 
ladies are the best the nation has to offer and 
we are so very fortunate to have them here at 
Rutgers. They are ladies of class and 
distinction; they are articulate, they are 
brilliant. They are God's representatives in 
every sense of the word. What you have to realize 
is less than a year ago half of these ladies were 
planning to graduate from high school. There are 
five freshmen who, as they graduated from high 
school, thought about the opportunity they would 
have by coming to Rutgers University and by 
playing basketball at the highest level. Before 
you know it, everyone here found themselves on a 
national stage playing for the world to see, 
playing basketball at the highest level. This 
group of women is bright, gifted, hard-working 
and has persevered through so much.

You have all come to talk about this story, this 
Don Imus story, but we've lost what this is all 
about. At the beginning of the year we were 
humiliated as we lost to Duke, the number one 
team in the country. But through perseverance and 
hard work and dedication, through eight to ten 
hours working and going through film and 
studying, ultimately they alone became what they 
could be when no one else believed in them­that's 
the greatest story. It doesn't matter where you 
come from but where you're going. It doesn't 
matter where you started but how you end because 
that is the story. Perseverance, hard work, 
determination. This group of classy young women 
represents all of us. I have pride and respect 
for them. What's amazing is less than 24 hours 
after they accomplished so much to have people 
insult us. We are all physically, emotionally and 
mentally spent. We are hurt by the remarks that 
were uttered by Mr. Imus. But these girls 
understand that no one can make you feel inferior 
unless you allow them to. My role as a coach is 
one to love, nurture and discipline these ladies 
to leadership roles in this society. In all that 
we do, this group of young women have been 
represented as nothing less than class in every 
aspect of all that they do. While they worked 
hard in the classroom and accomplished so much 
and used their gifts and talents, you know, to 
bring the smiles and the pride within this state 
in so many people, we had to experience racist 
and sexist remarks that are deplorable, 
despicable and abominable and unconscionable. It hurts me.

As a sixteen-year old girl, I was a victim of 
racism but I had a group of people that stood up 
for me. We (my high school) never had an African 
American cheerleader and so the chancellor came 
to my house late one night and asked if I would 
speak up to the board of education. I initially 
said no but my dad said some things to me that 
rang true. He said if you don't stand up for 
something you'll fall for anything. He said it 
might not be about you but about future 
generations of young women. So I went to the 
school board. I was placed on the cheerleading 
squad and I became the best I could be. I felt 
what Mr. Imus said; I've experienced it and I 
told the team I have experienced it. In my mind, 
this is a time for change because it's not about 
just these young women. I ask you, no matter who 
you are, who could have heard these comments and 
not been personally offended? It's not about the 
Rutgers women's basketball team, it's about 
women. Are women hos? Think about that. Would you 
want your daughter called a ho? It's not about us 
as black people or as nappy-headed. It's about us 
as people­black, white, purple or green. And as 
much as I speak about that, it's not even black 
and white­the color is green. How could anyone 
not have been personally hurt when there is no 
equality for all or when equality is denied? 
These young ladies have done nothing wrong. Some 
of you might point to the fact that he (Don Imus) 
makes comments about other political figures or 
other professionals. But these ladies are not 
professionals or political figures. They are 18, 
19, 20 year-old women who came here to get an 
education and reach their gifts for all to see. 
These are young women little girls look up to and 
we as adults, at what point do not call upon 
people to stop? There is a bigger issue here, 
more than the basketball team. It's all women 
athletes, it's all women. Have we lost a sense of 
our own moral fiber? Has society decayed to such 
a point where we forgive and forget because it 
was just a slip of the tongue? I'm going to 
suggest that people give thought before they speak.

As a coach, I love them and I cherish them and I 
appreciate the opportunity to prepare them for 
the world and prepare them for life. We are 
preparing them for leadership roles in society. 
It's never just been a basketball game here for 
us at Rutgers. It's always been about life. We 
were so excited, my staff and I, to talk to the 
recruits because what they saw was a group 
persevere and beat Duke on Duke's floor. They saw 
a team that heard people say if you're going to 
succeed you have to face Michigan in front of 
15,000 people. And then they said you have to 
take on the mighty Duke just to get to the 
finals. And then face mighty LSU that beat 
Tennessee a week earlier. Everyone said it wasn't 
possible with this group of five freshmen and 
five upperclassmen but this was a group that 
broke all kinds of NCAA records in defense. They 
showed the world it's not about where you come 
from but where you're going. It's not about where 
you start but where you finish. They have 
restored my confidence and faith as a coach. I 
respect that their parents would entrust their daughters to me.

Are we as adults responsible enough for nurturing 
dreams and standing up for what is right? We have 
to recognize this issue speaks to a bigger issue. 
To utter such despicable words is not right, 
whether they are spoken by black, white, purple 
or green, male or female, tall or short, skinny 
or thin, it is not right. It is time for everyone 
to reflect on what is going on. It is time ladies and gentlemen.

I have had the privilege of taking three teams to 
the Final Four. The first time was with Cheney 
but I wasn't able to experience it with great joy 
because my daughter was stricken with meningitis 
at 14 months and was confined to a wheelchair. 
With Iowa, my husband died suddenly. My heart has 
never been light when going to the Final Four. 
When I came to Rutgers we went to the Final Four 
in 2000 but we never got to the championship 
game. It took me personally 25 years to come to 
get to a championship game. This was a team that 
had so little and gave so much. This was a team 
that was so young. This was a team that restored 
all my faith and confidence in young people. They 
grew and they matured. They all worked together and became a powerful group.

Rutgers University has had a proud reputation for 
many years as being one of the highest academic 
institutions in the country. I say to them (the 
players) and their parents, I thank them for 
trusting me with their lives and I understand the 
magnitude of my responsibility and I honor them 
and am so proud of them. I thank them. They have 
no reason to drop their heads. I ask everyone who 
can hear my voice, please understand that we all 
need to make changes, all of us beyond Imus. We 
need to serve as examples of how to be winners on 
the basketball court and we also need to serve as 
examples of how to be winners in life. I am 
thankful to serve as coach and I trust that the 
President of Rutgers, the governor of New Jersey 
and our Athletic Director to continue their 
support, respect and honor of these young ladies. I thank you very much."

Bob Mulcahy: "Those of you have followed the team 
this past month have had the opportunity to talk 
to them in lockerrooms, in Hartford, Michigan, 
Greensboro, and Cleveland and know what they (the 
players) are like. The rest of the world doesn't 
know them and understand why we are so proud of these women."

On whether ignoring the issue was discussed:

Bob Mulcahy: "First of all, I don't think there 
was ever any thought to ignore it. I think you 
have to understand on Thursday (April 5) we had 
two celebratory events­we had the ringing of the 
bell and the celebration with the team and about 
2,000 people here Thursday night. We did not want 
to take away from that but simultaneous with 
those events, the President issued his first 
statement and consequently issued another with 
NCAA President Miles Brand and Coach Stringer 
issued her personal statement on Friday (April 
7). There was never a question in my mind to ignore.

On the parameters of the meeting with Don Imus:

Bob Mulcahy: "It will take place at an 
undisclosed location, away from the media, away 
from everybody so that everyone involved can 
express themselves and will subsequently be made 
public afterwards. This came about because of a 
requests made through me to the team and the team discussed it."

On the decision to meet:

Coach Stringer: "It was always the team's 
decision. They decided and I was proud of their decision."

On the appropriate punishment for Mr. Imus:

Bob Mulcahy: "The purpose of today's meeting was 
not to discuss that. The purpose of today's 
gathering was to show people the quality of these 
young women and give their accomplishments their 
due. It is up to them to decide, once they have 
had the opportunity to meet face-to-face, and let 
us know how they feel about it what they think 
should be done. I think all of us to a person 
think that when it is done it will be an 
opportunity for our society to look at this issue 
and create more sensitivity and tolerance so that these things don't get said."

President McCormick: "Our exclusive attention on 
this has been the well-being of our students and 
their families and their abilities to complete 
their work at Rutgers. Don Imus' future has not 
been on the table for us. This is a learning 
community and our entire endeavor is to make sure 
we do learn from this event. We want to move 
forward from this event as a community that 
understands better how powerful words can be. 
 From the outset we have put our arms around our 
students and protected them. We cannot say in any 
way Mr. Imus' future should be."

Coach Stringer: "We have to evaluate the 
sincerity of the apology and that's one of the 
reasons we need to do this face-to-face. As I 
said before, the color is 'green,' not black or 
white or yellow or brown. We need to look and 
determine what our moral fiber is. What is 
important? What message are we sending to these 
young ladies and to young people across the 
country? To grandfathers, grandmothers, everyone? 
This is an opportunity to give back. It's 
important that we hear him with a clear conscious 
and give him the opportunity to explain some 
things but he also gets the chance to meet some 
young women. But I can't answer that question (on 
whether Don Imus should be fired) so how can the 
players answer? We need to do some intraspection after the meeting."

On how the team got to the Championship game:

Coach Stringer: "They had no idea the work that 
is required to reach the pinnacles of success. 
This was a team that did not pass what we 
consider the minimal physical standards. They 
worked hard from that point. Yes, their cell 
phones were taken during competitions. On New 
Year's Eve at 10:30 at night we had several 
players who are playing professionally come back 
to meet with the team, this after six to seven 
hours of drills, and they were so amazed to the 
love and support that past players had for them. 
They talked to them and let them know they were 
honored to be Scarlet Knights. They worked 
extremely hard, they practiced at five o'clock in 
the morning. They watched film, they wanted to 
learn. To see the smiles, to see the same ones do 
what they doubted they could do, to see them do 
what they thought they couldn't do. They 
represented the University at the highest level. They are strong women."

On the terms on which the meeting with Don Imus will take place:

Bob Mulcahy: "The meeting will take place on our terms."

On the reaction from alumni:

Bob Mulcahy: "We have received many, many emails 
relating to this from people both within and 
outside of the state. I am not aware that the 
alumni have scheduled anything at this point."

On private, less public, support:

Coach Stringer: "We have gotten a tremendous 
amount of support from so many people."

On whether anything compares to the Championship game experience:

Coach Stringer: "This year is particularly 
special because no one thought this team would 
make it to the national championship game and it 
taught me about the resiliency of young people. Nothing can compare to this."

On Imus' future and whether it hinges on money lost:

Coach Stringer: "That's for all of you to 
determine. The corporate sponsors have taken 
steps, however big or small, and have at least 
acknowledged that something wrong was said. Time 
has to be taken to look at and consider why it 
happened and consider what would have if we had 
said such things. We need to reduce it to its 
core­what it means to be a human being."

Heather Zurich and Essence Carson Statements

Player Q&A Period

Heather Zurich: Good morning, I am Heather 
Zurich; A sophomore and a proud member of the 
Rutgers women's basketball team. This week and 
last we should have been celebrating our 
accomplishments this past season; many of the 
media here, may not realize my team started the 
season 2-4, we were at the lowest of lows, Coach 
Stringer called us her worst defensive team ever; 
but we- the ten of us here- , prevailed, we 
fought, we persevered and most of all, we 
believed in ourselves. We won 22 of 25 games to 
finish the season, before falling to Tennessee in 
the national championship game. .. We won the BIG 
EAST championship along the way, the first ever 
and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. We know we 
shocked a lot of people along the way, but this 
team did not settle for just showing up-  we 
reached what many only dream about – the NCAA 
title game. But all of our accomplishments were 
lost 
. Our moment was taken away-  Our moment to 
celebrate our success, our moment to realize how 
far we came on and off the court as young women; 
we were stripped of this moment by the degrading 
comments by Mr. Imus last Wednesday. What hurts 
the most about this situation is Mr. Imus knows 
not one of us personally; he doesn't know Mat is 
the funniest person you will ever meet; Kia is 
the big sister you never had but always wanted; 
and Piph would be an unbelievable lawyer someday. 
These are my teammates, my family. And we were 
insulted and yes, we are angry. Worst of all, my 
team and I did nothing to deserve Mr. Imus nor 
Mr. McGirk's deplorable comments. Our families 
are upset and with good reason; instead of 
enjoying our first day off in months to celebrate 
Easter with our families, this was the topic of 
conversation. We attend the eighth oldest 
institution of higher education in the country 
and not to mention, one of the most difficult 
academically. (I think many Rutgers students can 
agree on that) We ten are simply put 
--student-athletes. But instead of attending 
study hall this morning, I address you about 
something that should never have taken place.  I 
am extremely proud of my teammates – I am proud 
when we walk through an airport on the way to or 
from a road trip;  dressed alike, in Rutgers gear 
with pressed pants and nice shoes. The ten of us, 
love getting dressed up for banquets and I 
believe we present ourselves well – both on and 
off the court; even though Mr. Imus seemed to 
think differently. But then again, he knows not 
one of us. Thank you for your time.

Bob Mulcahy: When you hear these young women, you 
begin to understand why we felt the support them 
and bring them out to let you see, and let the 
country see, what they are. What they stand for. 
And how they respond to the comments made and how 
high-class of a respond they have. Essence 
Carson, the leader of our team, is a straight 'A' 
student and an accomplished musician. She could 
go to a piano and play 'Moonlight Sonata' without 
any notes. This is the kind of thing that people 
don't focus on, that we have here, and make us so 
special. That's why these women are so special 
and our coaches are special and that's why this 
university is special. Because of the manner in 
which they have come together from top to bottom. 
It would be wrong if I didn't acknowledge the 
support that the governor has given by being here 
and Reverend DeForest Sories who has been through 
all of this with us and has been a tremendous. 
They have been guides to the team, the coaching 
staff and the athletic director as we handle all 
these things. We have set aside a couple of 
minutes for the student-athletes to take 
questions before they go to their classes. We 
have a policy and that freshmen do not respond to 
public questions in the media. But we have the 
five upperclassmen: Essence, Heather, Kia, Matee 
and Katie would be happy to respond to any questions you would like to ask.

Essence Carson: Good morning, my name is Essence 
Carson and I am a junior student-athlete here at 
Rutgers University. I would like to express our 
team's great hurt, anger, and disgust towards the 
words of Mr. Don Imus. We are highly angered at 
his remarks but deeply saddened with the racial 
characterization they entailed. Not only has Mr. 
Imus stolen a moment of pure grace from us, but 
he has brought us to the harsh reality that 
behind the faces of networks that have worked to 
convey a message of empowerment to young adults, 
that somehow
someway
the door has been left open 
to attack your leaders of tomorrow. You must not 
forget that we are students first and then 
athletes
and before the student lies the 
daughter. On collegiate athletics' grandest 
stage, under the brightest lights, with the focal 
point being nothing other than a trophy that 
symbolizes the hard work and perseverance of a 
team so deserving, the curtains were closed on an 
act that deserved nothing short of an 
encore.  This Rutgers Women's Basketball team has 
made history. We were the first team in the 
school's history to reach a national championship 
final game. We are a team full of bright-eyed 
youth that aspire to be great
not only great on 
the basketball court, but in the fields of 
medicine, music, and psychology. I would like to 
pose a question
not a question of insult, but one 
of pure thought
Where were these major networks 
when the youth were making history for a 
prestigious university? Now we are bombarded with 
cameras, phone calls, and emails that invade our 
privacy and place us between a rock and a hard 
place. We haven't done anything to deserve this 
controversy, but yet it has taken a toll on us 
mentally and physically. Driven to a point of 
mental and physical exhaustion, we ask that you 
not recognize us in a light as dimly lit as this, 
but in a light that encompasses the great hurdles 
we've overcome and goals achieved this season.

Now with that said, we have agreed to have a meeting with

Mr. Don Imus. This meeting will be a private 
meeting at an undisclosed location in the near 
future. We just hope to come to some type of 
understanding of what the remarks really 
entailed, his reasons why they were said. And 
we'd just like to express our great hurt. The 
sadness that has been brought to us is more than 
the game of basketball, is more than the Rutgers women's basketball team.

As Coach Stringer said, we realize that it's 
about women across the world, across this nation. 
It just so happens that we finally take a stand. 
And we ask that you continue to support us and 
not look at it as we're attacking a major 
broadcasting figure. We're attacking something ­ 
an issue that we know isn't right. And we just 
continue to ask for your support and thank you for your support thus far.

Player Q&A period

On the meeting with Imus:

Matee Ajavon: "I have to say that we honestly 
don't know what to expect in the meeting with Don 
Imus. But we will plan on asking him: what are 
his reasons? And how could you just say things 
that you had not put any thought to? Right now, I 
can't really say if we have come to a conclusion 
on whether we will accept the apology. I think 
this meeting will be crucial to us, the state of 
New Jersey and everybody representing us."

Essence Carson: "We as a group have decided that 
this meeting with Mr. Imus will help. We have 
thought about it, the thought of him cleansing 
his image with a personal apology has definitely 
crossed our minds. We understand that this isn't 
the first time this has happened, it's not the 
second and it sure isn't the third time so there 
must be a lot of cleansing that's going on. But 
we do hope to get something accomplished during this meeting."

Kia Vaughn: "I have no comment on towards whether 
or not he should be fired. Within this meeting, 
I'd like to know the reasons for saying what was 
said and you might look at it as being a harsh 
meeting, but I'd like for him to get to know us, 
as a whole, and understand why we're great people 
and why, for us, that statement is false."

On the demeaning of women in society:

Essence Carson: "I know that rap, hip-hop and 
music of that genre has desensitized America and 
this world to some of the words that they choose 
to use in their lyrics. I understand that, but it 
doesn't make it any more right for anyone to say 
it. Not only Mr. Imus, but, if I was to say it, 
it doesn't make it right. It doesn't make it 
right if you're African-American, Caucasian, 
Asian, it doesn't matter. All that matters is 
that it's wrong. As a society, we're trying to go 
and trying to surpass that to the point where we 
don't classify women as hoes. We don't classify 
African-American women as 'nappy-headed hoes'. Or 
anything other than that. Other than they classy 
women that I believe every woman at this press conference is."

On the apologies released:

Essence Carson: "I'm sorry ma'am, but we haven't 
personally received an apology. These apologies 
have been written and released to the media. 
Personally, if someone were to apologize to me, 
I'd feel better, if they were apologize to me 
themselves. Reading it in the newspaper, watching 
it on television, or hearing it over the radio 
doesn't serve any justice to what he said."

On what the last week has been like:

Kia Vaughn: "During Easter, I have seven 
brothers, as everyone does know, instead of 
spending time with them and having fun, I had to 
cut off my phone. The media was trying to get 
through to talk to relatives and even people, 
being fans, were showing up in this moment of 
hurt. It was good to hear from some people, but 
to have to repeatedly express how I felt, I 
became really agitated. [What is happening] takes 
away from school, study hall, things we should be 
doing and things that we are capable of 
succeeding in. But, instead, we have to address a 
situation that should never have been spoken upon."

On what is to come from this:

Essence Carson: "I believe there are a lot of 
positives that can come from this. One thing is 
that we finally speak up for women, not only 
African-American women, but all women. That's 
just going to be a major step forward in society, 
just to finally understand thatthere isn't that 
equality that we all wish was there. It's 
something we all hope for, but until we make 
those great strides to achieve that, we're going 
to continue to fall short. I'm glad we're 
speaking up. I feel like we can achieve that [equality]."

On the suspension:

Essence Carson: "I can't quite characterize the 
suspension. I believe that his employers have 
done a great job, especially with the apologies 
that they have sent out to the media. At the same 
time, the situation isn't over. There is still work to be done."

On those who have taken up the cause:

Essence Carson: "I believe that Reverend Sharpton 
is using this as another example for something 
that he's been fighting a long time. It just 
happens to be us. It just brings us to a harsh 
reality that the things that we're discussing 
today, aren't over. They haven't been resolved. I 
haven't been personally contacted, but I like my 
privacy so the phone calls have been quite 
annoying and aggravating. I wish that they could 
stop. But, I believe that he's doing a good thing, just as he always has done."

On the networks that carry Imus' program:

Essence Carson: "As far as his employers, the 
radio station that broadcast the show, we all 
know it's about how many people are listening and 
your ratings. I can't blame them for supporting 
his show prior to this incident. He does have 
pretty good ratings, so I've heard. I believe 
they have taken action with his suspension. I 
don't know what else will happen. We haven't 
really come to the conclusion on what we'd like 
to happen, that's still up in the air."

On the impression accepting an apology will give to people across the country:

Essence Carson: "We haven't really discussed 
accepting his apology. That's what I believe the 
meeting will be for and that's what we'll cover. 
I think then we'll get a better understanding of 
his apology that has been released to the press. 
There's still a lot more contemplation that has 
to go on. We have to discuss it as a team, as a 
program, as a university, together, because this 
has not only affected us, but women across the nation.

On message to convey to NAACP youth and college chapters

Matee Ajavon: "I think the message that needs to 
be conveyed starts with women. Black women, all 
colors. Women are equal. We need to start taking 
more head into what women do in this world and 
women can accomplish anything they put their 
minds to. As far as the NAACP, I would like to 
say that we really thank you guys for coming out. 
It's not just about black women. We have a lot to 
say-women in general. We have to show the world 
that we're worth more and we can't be bashed for our gender."

On the thought of ignoring comments:

Essence Carson: "At first, as a whole, I believe 
our first thought was to let it slide. But after 
reading the transcript of the conversation, it 
hit a little too close to home. The remarks that 
were made were unacceptable. Not only because 
he's a broadcaster that gets his show across to 
so many people because he's in the nation's 
biggest media market in New York, but because he 
reaches so many people, can you imagine how many 
people may have really did think there might be 
truth behind his joke? Just growing up in a 
society as a 20-year-old, I've seen a lot of 
things. I've seen things happen to women and I've 
heard about things that happen to women­you learn 
about them in school. You don't get too many 
opportunities to stand up for what you know is 
right, I know we're at a young age and we know 
what's right and what should be done. We're glad 
to have the opportunity to stand up for what is right.

Heather Zurich: "Besides the fact that the 
comment was something we didn't want to ignore, 
it was kind of hard. The media was calling our 
houses, our cell phones, following us around 
campus. We went home for the weekend and you 
couldn't ignore the issue. The media wanted to 
know our opinion so it was kind of hard to ignore."

©2007 Rutgers Athletics.




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