Essence Carson, the captain of the Rutgers women's basketball team, said that the team has agreed to have a meeting with radio talk show host Don Imus.

Slideshow: Players Speak Out

At a Tuesday morning news conference on the Rutgers campus in Piscataway, N.J., Carson said the meeting will be private and will take place at an undisclosed location.

Imus said he didn't expect forgiveness from the team.

"We hope to come to an understanding about what the remarks entailed and why it was said," said Carson. "It's more than basketball, more than the Rutgers women's team. It's about women across the world and the nation."

Imus called the Rutgers players “nappy-headed hos” last Wednesday, the day after the Scarlet Knights lost to Tennessee in the title game of the NCAA women's tournament. Imus was suspended Monday from his radio show, carried by CBS Radio and simulcast on the MSNBC cable network, for two weeks beginning April 16. Imus called the suspension "appropriate."

Rutgers guard Matee Ajavon said she didn't know what to expect from the meeting.

"I could say that we honestly don't know what to expect from Don Imus and what we will plan on asking him is his reasons and how you could just say things that you have not put any thought to?," Ajavon said. "Right now I can't really say if we have come to a conclusion of whether we will accept the apology. What I can say -- I think this meeting will be crucial for us, the state of New Jersey and everybody representing us."

Carson said that the team hasn't personally received an apology.

"Reading it in the newspaper or watching it on television doesn't serve any justice to what he said," Carson said.

Rutgers women's basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer said that despite her team being insulted by Imus, the issue is bigger than them.

"It is about all athletes. It is about all women," Stringer said. "Have we lost a sense of our moral fiber?"

"It's not about [the players] as black or nappy-headed. It's about us as a people," Stringer said. "When there is not equality for all, or when there has been denied equality for one, there has been denied equality for all."

Imus said in an interview on the NBC's "Today" show, which was also carried on his radio program, that he will serve his suspension with dignity.

"I don't think it's a slap on the wrist," he said. "I think it's significant."

"If this was some malicious, vicious, racist tirade, I should be put in jail," he said.

Stringer said that she recognizes Imus makes fun of politicians and professionals on his show, but said that her basketball players are neither.

"These are 18-, 19-, 20-year-old women," Stringer said. "These are young women that girls look up to."

"These young ladies are the best this nation has to offer," she said. "They are young ladies of class and distinction. They are articulate. They are brilliant and they are gifted. They are God's representatives in every sense of the word."

School President Richard McCormick said that he called parents of team members and expressed his sympathy and regard.

"We have their backs," McCormick said. "We stand behind our team and could not be prouder of how they conduct themselves on and off the field."

On his show Tuesday, Imus said he made a "stupid, idiotic mistake."

"I'm not a racist," he said. "I've demonstrated that in my deeds and work."

Suspension Criticized

The announcement of Imus' two-week suspension drew criticism immediately from the Rev. Jesse Jackson. The Rev. Al Sharpton also has called for Imus to be fired.

Jackson called the suspension "a slap on the wrist," adding that instead of just taking time off, Imus needs "serious sensitivity training."

Jackson said that although Imus has apologized, he has a history of making derogatory comments about blacks. Jackson said Imus has also insulted tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, as well as poet Maya Angelou.

Imus apologized on his own show, carried by WFAN in New York City. Later he a guest on Sharpton’s radio show, and Sharpton renewed his call for Imus to be fired.

Sharpton said the remarks were "abominable" and "racist" and that Imus should lose his job.

Imus told Sharpton, "Our agenda is to be funny and sometimes we go too far." He said that in this case, “We went way too far."

"I'm not a bad person -- I'm a good person, but I said a bad thing," Imus said on his own show.

He said that he was not trying to downplay what he called "the repulsiveness" of the remarks, and he added it's important to understand the context.

He said he and his morning cohorts "were kidding around, but that doesn't change it. That doesn't make it any less repugnant."

Imus also said he hopes to meet the Rutgers players and their parents and coaches.

"I thought it was important to apologize to the coach, to the young women, and to their families for what I said," Imus said. "I'm going to talk to them if they'll let me."

On Sharpton's show, Imus also suggested that the "climate" of his program will change.

"I'm grateful that Rev. Sharpton allowed me to go on his program," Imus said Tuesday. "I think it was an important dialogue."

Jackson and about 50 other people marched Monday outside Chicago's NBC tower to protest Imus' comments.