In case you didnt see it, ESPN got a little carried away with the play on words today, after Jeremy Lin's 9 TOs, HUGE fan outcry after it was posted, they seem to have deleted the entire post and re posted to get rid of the pages of hate mail and obviously get rid of the headline.
A little LINsensitive?
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ESPN loves that phrase
They used it when talking about Olympic basketball in Beijing. They used it on air when talking about Lin’s game. But ESPN apologized for this one time, so everything is cool, right?
Chink isn't just a racial epithet like some others.
It has a perfectly acceptable meaning an in the audio clip above was used in an acceptable way, no?
by BigforkBullsFan on Feb 18, 2012 10:02 AM CST via mobile reply actions
honestly
that’s a really common phrase – and i think the person writing the headline literally didn’t think twice. in fact, when i first saw the image of it, i kinda didn’t get it. this whole uproar is kinda ridiculous imo. people just like to flip out about shit.
Look
I didn’t want to offend anyone by saying the "f" word or generalizing my statement to any particular sex by saying "gays" or lesbians" or "bi’s" so "homos" is the most "politically correct" term. I’m just trying to be more tact in a tactless blog.
by Hindut Patrol on Feb 15, 2011 2:51 PM EST
Racism uproar
is annoying
"Violence is not always the answer."
"Violence is the question, and the answers always YES!"
racism
is annoying
That shit crayy
by OdwallaJuicish on Feb 18, 2012 2:11 PM CST up reply actions 4 recs
from a guy that grew up black in germany.
That shit crayy
by OdwallaJuicish on Feb 18, 2012 2:11 PM CST up reply actions
Real racism is annoying,
not the shit everybody and their mother cries about today. Please…..does anybody here reading this really think ESPN harbors anti-Oriental feelings after the insane amount of coverage given to Lin the last 2 weeks.
Maybe they're not racist
But maybe someone thought that using the word in association with Lin was harmless and fun. We don’t know for sure, but naivete is definitely a possibility.
Really, the whole point is to not encourage the use of the word in that manner. Americans are dumb, and a large contingent is racist and/or naive. If they see it, they’ll reproduce it.
by jake1823 on Feb 18, 2012 3:20 PM CST up reply actions 3 recs
right, it's an 'uproar' to shame ESPN into not being fucking idiots. I don't see the harm in that.
I find it strange whenever someone gets vehemently opposed to ‘political correctness’, as if simply being ‘correct’ is such a bother to them.
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"Don't nag, flag!"
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Feb 18, 2012 7:54 PM CST up reply actions 5 recs
I really doubt they
thought it was a harmless and fun pun. There aren’t many people out there who think “chink” is an acceptable term for people of Asian race.
This headline was either a complete oversight, or (more likely) an asshole at ESPN who thought they were being funny by using a derogatory term in a clever way, and thought they could get away with it by playing dumb.
Did you really say "Oriental"?
is this 1950?
light em up
by docks on Feb 21, 2012 12:45 AM CST up reply actions 3 recs
they apologized again
http://www.espnmediazone3.com/us/2012/02/18/statement-on-new-york-knicks-jeremy-lin-headline/
gotta love mediocre journalism.
A true friend stabs you in the front - Oscar Wilde
I just read it as a weakness. A racial epithet was the last thing that came to mind. I didn't
realize it until I started reading the comments.
Rollin with RIP.........whenever he actually comes back.
Meh
Not a big deal, That phrase been used all the time and not being used differently at this time…
"Violence is not always the answer."
"Violence is the question, and the answers always YES!"
My response to all the people saying this isn't a big deal
I do agree that it probably was just a coincidence, but I think there’s definitely a small possibility that some racially insensitive bastard used the term on purpose. Chink is a very derogatory racial slur; it’s on par with the words nigger and kike. Yes, it does have an entirely different meaning in the context of “chink in the armor”, but when you’re referring to Jeremy Lin, one of the few Asian-Americans in NBA history and the biggest story in the sports world right now, that’s too much of a coincidence to ignore. If you don’t see why this is a big deal to the Asian community, you just don’t get it.
Pat Riley is the devil.
by Poloplaya14 on Feb 18, 2012 1:31 PM CST reply actions 11 recs
I have mixed feelings
on the one hand, most likely it was unintentional. It is a very commonly used expression, and the expression applies in this circumstance.
On the other hand, I wouldn’t be shocked if it was intentional (i still think it’s more likely it was an innocent, albeit unfortunate mistake). It’s not like they have their most esteemed employees writing the headlines for their website. It could’ve been done by an immature kid. It could’ve been a really insensitive, inappropriate prank. If they ever got wind that the person who wrote it knew what they were doing, they should be fired and blacklisted. But it is pretty easy for them just to play dumb.
i really just think it was an unfortunate coincidence
that being said i’m not saying they shouldn’t have pulled it or anything… i just really don’t think it was on purpose. it’s a perfectly acceptable expression, and as you said, certainly applied in this case.
Look
I didn’t want to offend anyone by saying the "f" word or generalizing my statement to any particular sex by saying "gays" or lesbians" or "bi’s" so "homos" is the most "politically correct" term. I’m just trying to be more tact in a tactless blog.
by Hindut Patrol on Feb 15, 2011 2:51 PM EST
Right
I guess I’m saying that people can be pretty juvenile and/or hurtful under the anonymity of the internet, and I wouldn’t be completely shocked if the person who wrote it thought they were being clever and that they could get away with it by playing dumb.
Really?
How does this change anything for the Asian American community? Lin just got an insane amount of positive coverage by the same company who people are now accusing of racism. I hate how everything is racist nowadays.
What the fuck are you saying?
I’m not saying the Asian American community is irreparably damaged or anything like that. That doesn’t mean this isn’t racist. I’m not saying ESPN is racist in general. Just that this one headline is obviously inappropriate.
Pat Riley is the devil.
You said it's a big deal.
If you don’t see why this is a big deal to the Asian community, you just don’t get it.
I guess I don’t get it.
You're jewish, right?
If Omri Casspi missed a clutch 3 or something and the front page of ESPN said “kike blows shot”, you wouldn’t be mad? I find that extremely surprising considering how irate you get when Carlos Boozer does so much as lays the ball in instead of dunking.
Pat Riley is the devil.
this just so isn't equivalent at all.
“chink in the armor” is a completely normal phrase. you could use it in reference to any person. “kike” doesn’t mean anything other than an anti jewish slur. if he weren’t asian, there’d be no uproar that a “slur” was used because it isn’t one. you even said it yourself that it has an entirely different meaning – one that predates any slur that’s for sure. this really just seems like it was thoughtlessness rather than saying you don’t buy that it’s just a coincidence.
if some asshole really did try to pull the double meaning, well then fire their ass. but as i said above i didn’t even think of it when i first saw the headline. is it because i’m not that demographic? probably. but this just really seems to be a case that someone wasn’t paying attention to the effect it could have rather than putting a slur on jeremy lin.
of course they were right to pull it down, i’m not saying they should have kept it up and maintained a stance that it’s okay, but this just doesn’t seem intentionally racist to me.
Look
I didn’t want to offend anyone by saying the "f" word or generalizing my statement to any particular sex by saying "gays" or lesbians" or "bi’s" so "homos" is the most "politically correct" term. I’m just trying to be more tact in a tactless blog.
by Hindut Patrol on Feb 15, 2011 2:51 PM EST
Like I said, it likely is the case that this is a dumb coincidence
But it also very well may not be. There are still a lot of racist assholes out there.
Pat Riley is the devil.
I don't see how it can be accidental
they’re headline writers, they make puns and wordplay and put thought into it, that’s how it works.
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"Don't nag, flag!"
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Feb 18, 2012 7:48 PM CST up reply actions 6 recs
I agree, it's no accident or coincidence
Some idiot, who no longer has a job, thought it was hilarious.
Lu-Deng Clan Aint Nuttin ta Fuck Wit !
Especially on ESPN.com and its mobile site.
They’re ALWAYS using puns.
The mistake could have come from the idiot headline writer putting it in the field to make a “joke” to some late-night colleague, and then hitting the button to publish it.
I work in media, and shit like this happens all the time, and people rightfully lose their jobs, or at least get suspended. At one paper I worked at, one of the copy editors put a gay joke in a caption on a news page and printed it out for proofreading to see if someone would catch it. It didn’t run in print, but the higher-ups got wind of it and fired his ass.
"Smith stripped. Smith stopped! Smith stopped again by Pippen!"
by ColonelFatheart on Feb 20, 2012 8:42 AM CST up reply actions
And actually, the more I think about it, the more likely I think it is that this was intentional
I mean, come on, Jeremy Lin’s the biggest story in the sports world right now. How the fuck do you miss that?
Pat Riley is the devil.
you really think they used that particular phrase on accident?
i understand saying it on air when youre not thinking but when youre just picking out a headline for the front page and youve spent all week making lin puns you decide to change it up and go with “chink in the armor” when lin fucks up?
youre telling me you dont see ANY evidence of racism there?
LINSANITY!!
i said intentional racism, not racism
maybe i’m in the minority here, but i really didn’t even think about it when i saw it. i only saw the phrase as to what the phrase actually means. maybe it’s just because those types of words aren’t in my vocabulary, i didn’t associate it. maybe i’m wrong to give the benefit of the doubt that it was really just thoughtlessness and it wasn’t malicious. and i do stress that of course they should have taken it down and everything, i wasn’t meaning to say they weren’t in the wrong.
and i was just pointing out that his example wasn’t analogous. there’d obviously be no mistaking “kike” whereas “chink in the armor” is a perfectly valid accepted phrase. now, i mean, it is obviously a pun gone wrong… but honestly, ESPN has used that phrase like 3k times across their site. seems more like habit to me.
and if it is some racist douchebag, i’m certainly not supporting that person. i’m not saying the whole thing isn’t insensitive or hurtful or right. it just really seemed like thoughtlessness to me, not direct racism. but that doesn’t mean it didn’t come off as racist, of course.
Look
I didn’t want to offend anyone by saying the "f" word or generalizing my statement to any particular sex by saying "gays" or lesbians" or "bi’s" so "homos" is the most "politically correct" term. I’m just trying to be more tact in a tactless blog.
by Hindut Patrol on Feb 15, 2011 2:51 PM EST
yeah i understand
but i just dont buy the “it was an accident” angle for the following reasons
1) it was a headline for the front page and not just a comment said on tv like the other
2) theyve used lin puns ALL WEEK LONG and now when they lose this is the headline??
LINSANITY!!
I didn't think about it either
Until someone brought it up, And then I was like “Oh..damn”
"Violence is not always the answer."
"Violence is the question, and the answers always YES!"
yeah
I didn’t see it initially, but the second time I saw it actually … was like “oh shit that’s an offensive word isn’t it. WTF?!?”
Rose decides not to go 1-on-2 and I was thinking, "what are you doing?! You've got the numbers!" -Zach Harper, Daily Dime Live
thanks guys
really this is all i was kinda saying. maybe i lightened it too much with some of the stuff i said. and i certainly didn’t mean to imply that i didn’t see the racist undertones at all or that it could be taken as just a horrible pun. but just that i understood that maybe this really could have just been an accident, and that one of their shitty editors probably barely even thought twice before letting it go.
Look
I didn’t want to offend anyone by saying the "f" word or generalizing my statement to any particular sex by saying "gays" or lesbians" or "bi’s" so "homos" is the most "politically correct" term. I’m just trying to be more tact in a tactless blog.
by Hindut Patrol on Feb 15, 2011 2:51 PM EST
I think it's quite reasonable for someone to not realize how it could be taken when using that phrase
I’m less sure it’s reasonable to assume it managed to slip by every human being who sees a headline before it makes it to the live page without anyone saying, “hey, wait a second…maybe we should rethink this”
"Shame he’s such a goofy fuckface."
-JBJ, referring to Dwight Howard
they said it live after a knicks win a few days ago
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESEGRwnQW4k
i think it’s ESPN being the usual fuckwads that they are
Just wee-un.
by jesus christos on Feb 18, 2012 9:41 PM CST up reply actions
I think Poloplaya is Asian, so that’s why he has such a bias towards the word.
If the guy writing the article meant it as a racist joke which I think he did, he should be fired. But I don’t even understand what chink even means.
As a Jew myself, I find kike pretty offensive, because I believe it came to be a put down towards displaced Jews during the Holocaust
The N-word (I cant believe you actually wrote it) obviously has the entire slavery connotation, but I think it’s been downplayed in recent history due to the use of it among black people regularly
But chink? What does that even refer to, like their eyes or something? Yeah, boy, that must be really tough to be Asian, get stereotyped about being intelligent, not like Jews with oven and greed jokes or African-Americans getting called lazy, dirty, etc.
I personally find “zipperhead” to be a much more offensive term for Asians, but many people don’t even know what it means
"And thank you to God for making me an Atheist." - Ricky Gervais
by MichaelClutchtree on Feb 18, 2012 7:59 PM CST up reply actions
so are you saying poloplaya is just biased because hes jewish and its not offensive?
its okay to use chink because its not as derogatory as nigger and kike in your book?
by your logic since youre jewish you must be biased against the word kike. its not all that offensive. its just cause youre jewish.
LINSANITY!!
Aaaaaaaaand
Wait…Huh??
"Violence is not always the answer."
"Violence is the question, and the answers always YES!"
It's quite magnanimous of you to decide what others should be offended by.
Get ready for that 7th banner Chicago...it's '90-'91 all over again!
There's a big world out there
In my belief, racism can be used interchangeably with ignorance. I was asked the other day by a guy from the US if I ride kangaroos to get around…
Of course I fucking do!!
its a big deal
ESPN has spent ALL 1 and 1/2 weeks on this lin story and every damn headline i swear has been a lin pun and then now when they lose the title you choose out of all the things you could say is “chink in the armor”?
come on now. its different if youre just saying it without thinking on tv, that i can understand having a lapse while youre just talking, but picking out a national headline on one of the most popular sports sites and you go with that?
LINSANITY!!
yeah, saying it on the air can be an accident
writing it as a headline is not.
BaB on Twitter | BaB on Facebook
"Don't nag, flag!"
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Feb 18, 2012 8:03 PM CST up reply actions 3 recs
This is beyond dumb
How does this get past an editor? Or even the headline writer? This IS the #1 sports network, right?
Idiotic.
Maybe they shouldn't be referred to as the world wide leader
now that they have an Asian American on their front page. After all….Asians have wide eyes.
These cries of racism are absurd.
Dude, I'm sorry but I have lost all respect for you from your series of posts here
You’ve said that you don’t get it, and that you think that the outcries of racism have no basis, I can see that.
I have a rhetorical question for you: why do you think that you get to be the judge of what is racist and not racist? Don’t you think the groups that are offended would be a better litmus test for that?
If someone is offended by something, how constructive or even effective do you think it is to dismiss that person’s feelings as something that is not valid? Do you maybe think that this is the attitude that… I don’t know, PERPETUATES RACISM?
Also what makes you think that you should be the judge of when a group of peoples’ judgment is “absurd”?
I encourage you to take a step back friend, and at least think about the alternative viewpoints that are being expressed in this thread.
There are the guys who get you the need baskets," says Bulls reserve forward Brian Scalabrine, referring to the vital hoops that stop runs and close out games. "I have a different word for killers. I call them mother-------. And right now, Derrick Rose is the baddest mother------ in the league by far. He is the reason we win.
by slowmotion on Feb 19, 2012 1:54 AM CST up reply actions 10 recs
At least he doesn't write the word god
So as not to offend……oh never mind
by BigforkBullsFan on Feb 19, 2012 7:22 AM CST via mobile up reply actions
It may shock you, but racism isn't just owning slaves and mass murder.
When you move on from 4th grade, it’ll all make sense.
by Ozzie Montana on Feb 20, 2012 8:10 PM CST up reply actions
their editors are horrible
they regularly have errors that any normal editor would fix.
Look
I didn’t want to offend anyone by saying the "f" word or generalizing my statement to any particular sex by saying "gays" or lesbians" or "bi’s" so "homos" is the most "politically correct" term. I’m just trying to be more tact in a tactless blog.
by Hindut Patrol on Feb 15, 2011 2:51 PM EST
I think it's more
idiotic writers, than racism….This is ESPN we’re talking about
"Violence is not always the answer."
"Violence is the question, and the answers always YES!"
Am I the only one who luolzed when I read it?
Not because I’m a fan of racial slurs, but just the fact that such an egregious error could be made and not spotted ahead of time. To me, it’s quite comical.
SIN-BANNED-ITY!!!
by Dr. Handsome, D.D.S. on Feb 19, 2012 10:05 AM CST reply actions
Update
http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/19/sport/espn-lin-slur/
They fired the guy who wrote it and suspended the anchor who said it. Appropriate resolution IMO.
Pat Riley is the devil.
by Poloplaya14 on Feb 19, 2012 12:46 PM CST reply actions 1 recs
It feels like it's a little too easy and convenient for ESPN.
I think I would have preferred more wide ranging suspensions, public apologies by the guilty parties, etc. What about the people who approved the headline, or the language choice of the on air analyst, for example? ESPN has essentially washed their hands of these incidents, narrowed all guilt down to only 2 specific individuals, and can now continue on as if they weren’t involved at all. There’s more wrong at ESPN than merely just a couple rogue individuals, their editorial, and perhaps even their hiring methods apperar somewhat suspect.
Because of the double meaning of “chink”, the headline writer will no doubt now be made a martyr by the anti-PC crowd. Most likely he’ll actually make out like a bandit. I would have preferred an outcome whereby the writer couldn’t have profitted from his bad choice, and more of those who played a hand in these incidents received some sort of punishment. Perhaps this is all just me being overly negative, but isn’t it going to suck when this person is making the rounds of various tv and radio talk shows and selling his book about how he was unfairly terminated by ESPN?
Get ready for that 7th banner Chicago...it's '90-'91 all over again!
I don't think they're necessarily done
I think ESPN understands the amount of negative PR that this type of thing carries with it, so I believe them when they say they’ll take every step to ensure nothing like this ever happens again. I agree that there’s probably more wrong at ESPN than a just a couple rogue individuals, but you could say that about pretty much any major corporation. There’s a lot of scumbags out there, and you’re just not gonna hunt down every one of them.
Pat Riley is the devil.
ESPN: For Clowns By Clowns
This isn’t about being PC. Refusing to show “Yellow Mamba” and fortune cookie signs held by fans would be being PC. This is about basic respect. This is indicative of a broader culture of idiocy at ESPN. I stopped watching ESPN a long time ago. I only watch now when NBA games are on and I have no alternative. SportsCenter was the first to go for me.
The smarminess was grating. They always seemed to have one corny black guy on each broadcast who made inane “cool urban” references that really rubbed me the wrong way. I truly hated everyone who participated in each SC broadcast. Then ESPN adopted this policy of riding every story relentlessly into the ground. Every story was Lebron. Then every story was Tebow. Now every story is Lin. Sadly, I caught 20 minutes of SC at the gym the other day. In that short span, they had a story about Tebow’s offseason and then an analysis of Lin’s game and then a story comparing Tebow and Lin. I can’t think of anything more annoying.
ESPN’s whole operation can go to hell. There is no question the “chink” headline was an intentional pun based on his ethnicity. If the league was 50% Asian and Lin’s ethnicity wasn’t a focal point, then I could give this a pass. Yes, “chink in the armor” is a phrase in common parlance but it’s an odd headline under any circumstance made suspect by it referring to Lin. If Andrea Bargnani let a pass slip through his hands in a critical moment, would the headline be “Greaseball”? Give me a fucking break. ESPN was the winner in the inevitable race to the bottom of increasingly dumber Lin puns. Congrats, idiots.
"Refusing to show "Yellow Mamba" and fortune cookie signs held by fans would be being PC."
Agree on that. I really don’t find those things offensive at all. I can see why some people might be, but to me, those things are just harmless fun. “Chink in the armor” is not in that category.
Pat Riley is the devil.
by Poloplaya14 on Feb 19, 2012 11:01 PM CST up reply actions
I think it has to be all or nothing
Either you view all derogatory slurs(chink, nigger, kike, etc) to be nothing but words and permissible to be used in any form of media or everyday life or you should denounce any of those words as disgusting and foul. What is amazing is how much the Asian-American community has been marginalized in these manners. I guarantee that there would no one supporting ESPN or complaining about too much PC in our society these days if the headline used a black or Jewish slur in any fashion. Personally, I would never use any of those words and am outraged that am amazed that we still have people in 2012 who think this is not a big deal in any way.
by diedaily23 on Feb 19, 2012 6:01 PM CST reply actions 1 recs
Actually I'm pretty sure people like Rush Limbaugh and his ilk would be decrying the "PC nonsense."
There’s always somebody.
"Smith stripped. Smith stopped! Smith stopped again by Pippen!"
by ColonelFatheart on Feb 20, 2012 8:45 AM CST up reply actions
If only it were that simple.
But how many times can you find “nigger” in song lyrics? I can’t claim to know why some black people use it to refer to other black people, but there are those that believe if you take ownership of a word, you take it’s power to be derogatory.
The word “chink” had nothing to do with Asians until the 1800s or so. Since it became derogatory, does that negate all other meanings?
It’s a shitty thing to deal with, because if you blanket decry all use of these words, some people who are not racist will get flak for it. If, socially, you don’t discourage use of these words at all, well, that’s obviously no good either. The only really fair way to deal with them is to assess intent when they are used. If it’s not motivated by hate or ignorance, it shouldn’t be derogatory.
…but…who’s to tell anyone what they should be insulted by?
and how the hell can anyone with 100% accuracy assess intent?
it’s a catch-22 every which way :/
"Shame he’s such a goofy fuckface."
-JBJ, referring to Dwight Howard
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