shock jock don imus got into hot water after saying this about african-american basketball players at rutgers university. >> rough girls from rutgers, man, they got tattoos and -- >> hardcore hos. >> nappy-headed hos. >> reporter: imus apologized later but it wasn't enough to keep his radio program or an msnbc deal, although he is back on radio and tv today. >> like i was swimming through a flabby-armed spanking machine. >> reporter: the man who we know as kramer on "seinfeld" michael richard also was called a racist after he said the n-word over seven times in two minutes at an l.a. comedy club. later he was contrite on the "letterman show" >> i think it's important for the african-american community that this kind of crap doesn't come about. and i'm sorry it happened. >> reporter: richards maintained a low profile for quite some time following the incident. few celebrities have been