Radio host Don Imus was scathingly criticized last year for his on-air racist remarks and he repented and promised to do better in the future but it appears he’s put his foot in his mouth again.

During an on-air conversation Monday with sports announcer Warner Wolf regarding the arrests of suspended Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones, Imus asked his WABC-AM colleague, “What color is he?”

To which Wolf replied that Jones is “African-American” and Imus said, “There you go. Now we know.”

As Imus has come under fire before, enough so that he was fired by his previous employers, MSNBC and CBS Radio, for what was unanimously considered to be a sexist and racially charged comment about the Rutgers University women’s basketball team, his comments Monday promptly generated criticism.

Civil rights leader Al Sharpton, who was very outspoken last year against the veteran radio talk show host’s use of words, issued a statement accusing Imus of indulging in a disturbing conversation that “plays into stereotypes,” reports the Associated Press.

Hours later, Imus proceeded to explain himself in a statement released by his spokesman. He argued that he had been misunderstood and that he had only meant that Jones “was being picked on because he’s black.”

The AP adds that WABC and Citadel Broadcasting Corp. Vice President Phil Boyce said Imus would explain his comments on his Tuesday morning show. Boyce added that he had had a private conversation with Imus Monday afternoon which left him satisfied with the shock jock’s explanations.

Boyce concluded that it was unlikely there would be disciplinary measures taken against Imus.

Contacted by the AP, Rutgers University women’s basketball spokeswoman Stacey Brann appeared to have forgotten and forgiven the April 2007 incident. She only said there was “no need to revisit the past.”

The 67-year-old Imus has been hosting “The Imus in the Morning” on New York radio station WABC since early December.