U.S. radio host Imus fired by CBS over racist slur

(Adds Corzine accident en route to Imus/Rutgers meeting)

By Mark Egan

NEW YORK, April 12 (Reuters) - Radio host Don Imus was dumped by CBS Radio on Thursday in an inglorious end to a 30-year career that erupted in controversy over racist and sexist comments about a women's college basketball team.

CBS's decision to nix the popular "Imus in the Morning" show, which mixed locker-room humor with interviews with top stars and politicians, followed days of uproar after he called the mostly black Rutgers University team "nappy-headed hos."

The move came one day after he was unceremoniously jettisoned by MSNBC, which had broadcast his radio show on television and after several major advertisers, including General Motors (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Procter & Gamble (PG.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) backed out.

Debates over racial expressions are a frequent feature of an American culture still struggling to come to terms with a legacy of slavery and discrimination. "Nappy" is a slur describing the tightly curled hair of many African-Americans. "Ho" is slang for "whore," and is commonly used in rap music.

The slur "nappy" has largely fallen out of American usage.

"I believe all of us have been deeply upset and revulsed by the statements that were made on our air about the young women who represented Rutgers University ... with such class, energy and talent," CBS boss Leslie Moonves said in a statement.