Kia Vaughn, a women’s basketball player at Rutgers University, sued the notorious radio host Don Imus this week for slander, libel, and defamation. During a live broadcast in April, the shock jock referred to members of the highly ranked team as “nappy headed hos,” causing a furor that led to his firing by CBS Radio and MSNBC.

Ms. Vaughn, a junior from the Bronx, N.Y., sued Mr. Imus, those two networks, the CBS Corporation, NBC Universal, Viacom Inc., Westwood One Radio, and Mr. Imus’s former producer, Bernard McGuirk, according to ABC News. The lawsuit says the networks “wrongfully, intentionally, willfully … created, tolerated, and maintained an atmosphere in which the making of outrageous statements and comments was acceptable,” according to the article.

Ms. Vaughn, who argues that Mr. Imus violated her civil rights, is seeking monetary damages, but it is unclear how much. The lawsuit coincided with the settlement of Mr. Imus’s own dispute with CBS over his dismissal, a move that could allow him to resume his lucrative career, the Reuters news agency reported.

At a news conference at Rutgers soon after Mr. Imus made the vulgar remark, Ms. Vaughn, a 6’4” center, spoke along with other members of her team. “I’m not a ho,” she said. “I’m a woman, and I’m someone’s child.”

“I achieve a lot,” she said. “And unless they have given this name ‘ho’ a new definition, then that is not what I am.” —Sara Lipka