ESPN fires writer for using common cliche'
 

This is insane. There was no racism here. The only racism to be found is by the very people who are calling it racism. Grow a pair Asian community and bleeding hearts.

NEW YORK — Both ESPN employees punished for using a racial slur in reference to Jeremy Lin have stated that they meant no offense and did not use the word to deliberately denigrate the New York Knicks point guard.

Anthony Federico, an ESPN editor, posted the headline “Chink in the Armor” late Friday night after the streaking Knicks fell to the New Orleans Hornets. ESPN fired Federico on Sunday after the headline angered civil rights groups and garnered national media attention. http://www.vancouversun.com/entertai...107/story.html

sigh... 10+ turnovers a game is a serious chink in his armor.

reminds me of this...

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jpmoore/the-...-racial-intimi

I suppose it is possible he didn't intend the remark to be racist, but it's not very likely, is it? So either the writer is incredibly stupid or a racist. Either way, he deserves to be fired.

Also, I'm sick of the ****ing hype about Jeremy Lin. He gets paid millions to run up and down a court like an idiot and throw a ball in a hoop.

So black people own the word bro now too? Where is this list of words with what ethnic community retains ownership? I see nothing in the dictionaries I have ever used about word ownership. I guess they use different dictionaries than me...

Are you kidding me? I'm not one of those overly sensitive, heart on my sleeve type of people, but there's no argument for this guy. Jeremy Lin is the first Asian American player in NBA history. THE FIRST. In the past month he's gone from being a completely unknown benchwarmer to a sensation that's playing at an elite level and winning almost every game. Many deterrers for the past month, including some radio and television personalities, have stated that he's only getting so much coverage because of his race.


Then, for the first time, the Knicks lose with Lin as a starter and the writer chooses to write that the team has a "Chink in the armor"? One of the most commonly used terms for racism against Asians? Are you kidding me? Either the writer is (most likely) a racist, or grossly underestimated the context of his writing that would be read by millions of people (less likely). Either way, in this day and age, he deserved to be fired.

He is not getting paid millions, unless it just happened. That is the reason for the hype... that and the fact that the NBA has a hard on to spread basketball to asia and overblows any asian's performance. Don't get me wrong, Lin is good. But for someone from Harvard who is supposed to be so smart he sure has a hard time distinguishing who the guys on his team are. That and the fact that he is in NY, playing for a team that has been completely underwhelming since the trades/signings and D'antoni's arrival.


As to the title, it was done at 2:30 in the morning, is a title he has used many, many times before... and I believe he has an asian girlfriend. Nothing points to intent to be racist except those screaming that it is so. It is literally one of the most common sport cliche's used. Rag on him for going to the unoriginal well if you want, but there is no racism here, at all.

Um what?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yao_Ming

What about this guy? Pretty sure he is Asian.

but not american

Oh and the annoying commercials...

"A chink in the armour" has been an idiom of its own for God know's how long. The ONLY reason it has been deemed as racist in this case is because of people like you who have got so pathetically politically correct it makes normal people cringe.

This expression would be used for anyone with the same faults I bet, but some namby-pamby, liberal wet-wipe has noticed that the player involved is Asian and thought they would get their name in the paper if they spoke up about it.

In this case it's not even as if it can be accidentally racist. The word chink means a fissure in something and anyone with more than three braincells (to save you some time; no that doesn't include you) understands context.

If this ridiculous crusade to ban the use of anything that could possibly offend anyone on any grounds continues we will be left with only hello and goodbye to say to each other.

Yes, I know it has been around for ages, Captain Obvious. Idioms can also be used in word play to refer to race. It's prominence certainly lends that interpretation:

http://blog.zap2it.com/pop2it/jeremy...armor-ESPN.jpg


I'm not up in arms about this. I don't give two shits about Lin or ESPN. But the mainstream media has played up his Asian ethnicity repeatedly. Look at the idiotic headline in the Rupert Murdoch-owned rag. If you don't at least concede the possibility that the writer knowingly intended the phrase as a reference to his race, then you are very naive.

Being a sports writer I have followed this guys work for some time, a very gifted writer but know for pushing the envelope with regards to 'shock value' work from time to time. I have zero belief that he is racest but rather I believe he thought he was being clever without clearly thinking through it. And truth be told, the title worked extremely well! However it was in poor taste without question. Was it/he racest? I do not think so, but do MANY believe it crossed a line? Yes, and this was what got him fired. Sometimes the public you serve demand retrobution.

I know a lot of journalists, and I've worked with a lot of journalists. I've yet to find one stupid or career suicidal enough to deliberately try and slip anything racist into an article. Staff jobs at places like ESPN / Sky Sports are highly prized in the industry and are generally held by very intelligent and articulate journalists.

This x100


People are god damn retarded these days. You can't say anything without some dumbass twisting it into some racist/political incorrect horror show. The only racism going on there in the first place is the person who associated "chink" with the fact that the guy is asian. Same with that "You mad bro?" sign. They automatically associated bro with black people? Isn't that racist of you to do? How stereotypical of those people.

I would add some personal feelings that most of the rest of the world feels towards the average american these days but this place is too PC for that as well. Overall though the crap going down(mostly in america, it seems) in situations related to this is pathetic.

There is a southpark episode that is pretty apt. Cartman throws a rock at Token for being a jerk and instead of being two kids fighting, it's a hate crime. The american public/media seriously need to grow the F up.

So, you guys would feel the same way if a story broke, lets say about your mom who was raped by a african american at her job, then subsiquently lost her job because no one believed her and thought she was spreading false stories. The title was 'Black Balled, woman gets bent over at work"...?

Point is, context is everything. To ignore context is to be, well.... ignorant.

That just wouldn't make any sense though would it and is obviously a racial slur. In the case of ESPN you have to look very hard indeed to make a case for racial abuse. And as far as I'm concerned, if something needs analysing that much to produce the result you want then it's obviously not intentional.

Right. So no one in any coveted career could possibly make a racist comment.

I know my share of journalists from working in publishing as well. ESPN is not exactly a bastion of journalistic integrity.

I find it amusing every time a story or photograph emerges that has a high probability of containing racist/sexist undertones, a large section of people will adamantly deny that it's racist and denounce anyone who suggests otherwise as politically correct crusaders. I'm not sure how extreme and blatant racism would have to be for you to acknowledge its presence. Most racists don't wear white sheets and go about lynching minorities. Not everything is so cut and dry as you would like it to be.

People who think this guy is racist need to get some medication. Really you people are creating fantasy's for yourselves that don't exist.

Although obviously exaggerated for effect, it makes every bit as much sense as 'chink in the armor'. 'Black-balled' and 'to get bent over' are both common idioms, generally deemed completely acceptable in every day speech, just as you said 'chink in the armor was'. It's all about the context of how the phrase was used.


And NO ONE needed to analyze anything to deem this inappropriate. The ESPN comment boards blew up immediately after it was posted, with many in disbelief. The heading was taking down merely a couple of hours after it was put up from all the backlash. It's not like some dude 'spoke up about it to show up in the papers' as you like to try to imply. Personally, I thought to myself 'are you f**king serious?' when I read what the guy posted as a title. Not necessarily because I was offended but because the guy would have to be a complete imbecile to post something like that and expect to still have his job in the morning.

Whether you think it's racist or not, it's just common sense that you don't post something that can so easily be viewed as inflammatory on the heading of a news article being read by millions. Don't be an idiot.

Since were on the topic of racism did anyone here about this story? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...me-Africa.html