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Racist, or just a joke?

Should ESPN have fired the writer?


  • Total voters
    35

Peter Grimm

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ESPN runs "Chink in the Armor" headline with Jeremy Lin story | JIMROMENESKO.COM

ESPN fired a writer today for the following headline about an Asian American basketball player:

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My question is, do you think it was right to fire the writer, or are we getting too sensitive / PC?
 
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Journalists, reporters, and other writers and editors have been fired for less.
 
Some were fired after that. The news guy suspended for 30 days.

Myself, a chink in the armor to me meant a flaw in the armor of the opposing team. That the player happens to be asian and the term chink is a derogatory name is purely coincidence.
 
I don't think it was intended to be racist, just a wonderfully hilarious accident.
 
People are way too sensitive. Everything isn't racist, in fact, very few things actually are. I'd like to smack people who scream racism at every turn with a shovel.
 
Some were fired after that. The news guy suspended for 30 days.

Myself, a chink in the armor to me meant a flaw in the armor of the opposing team.

No, that's not the case, because Lin's team lost that game. "Chink in the armor" alludes to the fact that despite his impressive story, the myth of Lin is not indestructible, especially since they lost to a horrible team in the Hornets. The phrase did not refer to the opposing team, but rather the Knicks (Lin's team).

That the player happens to be asian and the term chink is a derogatory name is purely coincidence.

It was most definitely not coincidence, for the reasons stated above. Why choose that particular headline over a multitude of other potential headlines? My guess is that some guys in the newsroom were horsing around, Friday nights are usually skeleton crew times for newsrooms, and some copy editor let this slip through the cracks. That's the most plausible explanation in my opinion.
 
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ESPN runs "Chink in the Armor" headline with Jeremy Lin story | JIMROMENESKO.COM

ESPN fired a writer today for the following headline about an Asian American basketball player:

View attachment 67122686


My question is, do you think it was right to fire the writer, or are we getting too sensitive / PC?

While I would have preferred different wording in your voting choices, I think they were right to fire him. What a complete idiot. Probably had his dream job, too.
 
As I said...I didn't see what the big hoopla was. Finally it dawned on me they were bitching about the chink word. In essence, I was not looking for something racial and never made the connection. I would have if they said "Gook in the armor".
 
What's next? Announcers can't say "he did a slanty move to get that ball in the hoop"?
 
Media businesses rely on maximum readership. Losing any customers over perceived insensitivity can be grounds for termination for the offender. While I doubt the author meant it as a racist remark, I can see why ESPN decided to play it safe and fire the guy. Dumb mistake, but I've been fired for dumb mistakes in the past, too.

ESPN had every right, and good reason, to fire the poor lad. Bummer. Lesson? Do your job carefully, and when in doubt, ask.
 
I voted "no" based on what the OP gave. Beyond that don't know much about the guy. I don't like watching sports...would rather play em.
 
As I said...I didn't see what the big hoopla was. Finally it dawned on me they were bitching about the chink word. In essence, I was not looking for something racial and never made the connection. I would have if they said "Gook in the armor".

I'm just saying it's a hell of a curious choice for a headline. Is it possible it was a coincidence? Maybe, but I don't think so. My guess is that it was a joke gone wrong.
 
Could be, SB.
 
ESPN runs "Chink in the Armor" headline with Jeremy Lin story | JIMROMENESKO.COM

ESPN fired a writer today for the following headline about an Asian American basketball player:

View attachment 67122686


My question is, do you think it was right to fire the writer, or are we getting too sensitive / PC?

Answering your question here and not the one in the thread title, ESPN was justified in firing him simply for professional reasons. That is, the negative publicity associated from this made the firing justifiable. Whether racist or not, only the writer knows for sure.
 
It was a smart business decision to fire him, but that's because the population at large is hypersensitive. When are we going to around to becoming a colorblind society and thinking about race like we do eye color?
 
ESPN runs "Chink in the Armor" headline with Jeremy Lin story | JIMROMENESKO.COM

ESPN fired a writer today for the following headline about an Asian American basketball player:

View attachment 67122686

My question is, do you think it was right to fire the writer, or are we getting too sensitive / PC?
Well, it's a racially insensitive term used by racists so either the person who wrote it intended to be racist or intended to make a 'joke'. In both cases, whoever wrote and approved it it is/are stupid and should be fired if only for potentially hurting the reputation of ESPN. However, if they worked at my company, I would not only fire them for potentially hurting the reputation of the business, but for also bringing unacceptable racial insensitive into a work environment.
 
It was a smart business decision to fire him, but that's because the population at large is hypersensitive. When are we going to around to becoming a colorblind society and thinking about race like we do eye color?

Dunno if that's ever possible. I don't know if a colorblind society is even desirable, as you'll probably necessarily be asking large portions of the population to give up a certain cultural identity.
 
Dunno if that's ever possible. I don't know if a colorblind society is even desirable, as you'll probably necessarily be asking large portions of the population to give up a certain cultural identity.

I think when most people say "colorblind society" they mean that in terms of social acceptance.
 
Well, it's a racially insensitive term used by racists so either the person who wrote it intended to be racist or intended to make a 'joke'. In both cases, whoever wrote and approved it it is/are stupid and should be fired if only for potentially hurting the reputation of ESPN. However, if they worked at my company, I would not only fire them for potentially hurting the reputation of the business, but for also bringing unacceptable racial insensitive into a work environment.

Or they could have just used the expression and not think about the racial implications. It's easy to miss stuff like this if your not thinking about race IMO.
 
I think when most people say "colorblind society" they mean that in terms of social acceptance.

Ideally we should strive for a society that isn't "colorblind" per se, but where every race is treated equally by society. Idk how realistic that is though.
 
People are way too sensitive. Everything isn't racist, in fact, very few things actually are. I'd like to smack people who scream racism at every turn with a shovel.
I agree that it would be oversensitive to be outraged or hurt by this since it's relatively innocuous in terms of it's affect on people. However, 'chink' is a racially charged word used by racists. There's nothing sensitive about understanding that and thinking that it was used in a racist sense.

With racism, there are two equally problematic groups in this country. First, the people who don't know what racism actually means and call any mention of race 'racist' - those who you complain about. Second, the people who willfully ignore the racialized/racist history of words and dismiss any mention of racism as sensitivity - that's you.
 
Or they could have just used the expression and not think about the racial implications. It's easy to miss stuff like this if your not thinking about race IMO.

It's possible, but it'd be a hell of a coincidence in my opinion when there are tons of other potential headlines to choose from. This entire story Linderella story has been about Lin's race, it's hard to see how a writer could keep that out of his mind.
 
It's possible, but it'd be a hell of a coincidence in my opinion when there are tons of other potential headlines to choose from. This entire story Linderella story has been about Lin's race, it's hard to see how a writer could keep that out of his mind.

To be honest, I didn't know that "chink" was a racist term against asian people until like a year ago.

Also the whole story hasn't been about his race, it's been more about his play, and the fact that he's with the Knicks who have sucked for years.
 
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