NBC analyst Tanith White used some unfortunate wording when discussing the Shibutani siblings’ performance at the Olympics on Monday.
White was talking about Alex and Maia Shibutani — the American brother and sister figure skating team — and mentioned a potential weakness. She referred to it as a “chink in the armor.”
@TanithWhite I’m sure you didn’t mean it but poor choice of words using “chink in the armor” when talking about the Shibutani’s. It has racial connotations. Quite unfortunate. @aaja @angryasianman @originalspin #Pyeongyang2018 @NBCOlympics pic.twitter.com/AnElrfVyht
— linda (@kaya903) February 19, 2018
“Chink in the armor” is a phrase used to describe a weakness. But when it is used in the context of anybody who is Asian, it becomes questionable because the word is also a slur for Asian people.
White has received rave reviews for her commentary of the 2018 Winter Games and has not shown any hostility or ill feelings towards the Shibutanis. It’s quite clear that she did not have any malicious intent and really just used some lazy and poor phrasing. That has not stopped some from reacting negatively towards the wording.
For now, the matter has not received much attention unlike when an employee was fired for doing the same thing.
