Less than 15 months after losing his gig on WFAN and MSNBC for making racially charged comments regarding the Rutgers women’s basketball team, radio icon Don Imus has danced dangerously close to, and arguably over, the line again.

On Monday, Imus had the following exchange with Warner Wolf:

Wolf:  “Defensive back Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones, recently signed by the Cowboys.  Here’s a guy suspended all of 2007 following a shooting in a Vegas night club.”

Imus:  “Well, stuff happens.  You’re in a night club, for God’s sake.  What do you think’s gonna happen in a night club?  People are drinking, they’re doing drugs.  There are women there, and people have guns.  So, there, go ahead.”

Wolf:  “He’s also been arrested six times since being drafted by Tennessee in 2005.”

Imus:  “What color is he?”

Wolf:  “He’s African-American.”

Imus:  “Well, there you go.  Now we know.”

Last time around, the comments represented a partial effort at humor.  This time around, it was a matter-of-fact statement, with no chuckles, yuks, tee-hees, or ha’s.  As we see it, if the comment wasn’t overtly and blatantly racist, then what the hell was it?

Maybe we’re wrong on this one.  Even so, it was nothing short of stoopid to fly so close to the flame that already burned him once.

Here’s the audio.  PFT Planet, what say you about this one?

UPDATE:  A few readers have suggested that Imus was referring to a belief that African-Americans are more likely to be arrested because of police profiling.  Reading the transcript might possibly cause a reasonable person to perhaps think that; listening to the audio tends to (in our opinion) rule out any positive spin that could be placed on this one.  Besides, if Imus was trying to make a broader social comment regarding the question of whether black men are more likely to be arrested because of their race, he needs to offer up something more substantive than, “There you go.  Now we know.”  Especially in light of the Rutgers thing.