I was stuck in San Antonio International Airport for two hours on Sunday, on my way back to New York from covering the Sacrifice of the Nazarene Child Festival, and whom do I bump into in the waiting area? Curtis Sliwa, anti-crime activist, founder of the Guardian Angels and conservative radio talk-show host. His former radio program, “Curtis and Kuby in the Morning,” was replaced back in December on New York’s WABC station by “Imus in the Morning,” which bummed my dad out a whole bunch.

I turned to Sliwa at one point, to tell him as much. I explained that, while I’ve always been a Howard Stern fan and never actually heard his program, my dad was a huge fan, and was stunned when his show was canceled. Without naming names, he replied, diplomatically, “Well, some people should just know when to retire.” Not even 24 hours later, Sliwa’s comments were given new context.

On Monday morning — more than a year after he’d called the Rutgers University women’s basketball team “nappy-headed ho’s,” resulting in his firing from CBS Radio — older-than-dirt jock Imus made headlines once again for making another racially insensitive remark on the air. This one was about suspended Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones, and his most recent arrest — his sixth since being drafted in 2005.

During a discussion on Jones’ criminal record, Imus — six months into his new gig — asked what race the football player was. “He’s African-American,” responded one of the show’s announcers. “Well, there you go — now we know,” Imus muttered.

It’s hard to believe that someone like Imus, who’d been raked over the proverbial coals for months by the media and black activists, would be so careless with his words once again. And the defense he offered Tuesday morning was even harder to swallow. According to Imus, he was trying to “make a sarcastic point” and was just misunderstood. He said that he was trying to highlight the fact that African-Americans are singled out by police, and that Jones — who was once arrested for attacking a stripper — was the victim of racial profiling. “What people should be outraged about is that they arrest blacks for no reason,” he said. “I mean, there’s no reason to arrest this kid six times. Maybe he did something once, but everyone does something once.”

But his “apology” didn’t end there. He called the response to his comments “ridiculous,” before pointing out that three of his staffers are black. They were hired before he returned to the air, as a way of upping the show’s diversity. “How insane would I have to be? What would I be thinking?” Imus asked. Perhaps fearing they’d soon be out of a job, again, Imus’ cohorts were quick to come to his defense, saying the remarks were misinterpreted.

WABC and Citadel Broadcasting Corporation, who cut Imus’ checks, have said it’s unlikely the radio host will face disciplinary action, but just wait. On Tuesday, Reverend Al Sharpton issued a statement, and will likely launch another media blitz against him. Perhaps now Imus’ bosses will think twice. “I find the inference of his remark disturbing, because it plays into stereotypes,” Sharpton’s statement reads. “Any use of stereotypes is always counterproductive. We will determine in the next day or so whether or not his remark warrants direct action on our part as we did in April of last year.” Perhaps Imus should take Sliwa’s comments to heart and hang up his cowboy hat — before he sticks his cowboy boot in his mouth again.