While the phrase itself is innocuous, its use in contemporary times has caused controversy in the United States due to it including the
homonym "chink", which can be interpreted as
an ethnic slur to refer to someone of Chinese or East Asian descent.
ESPN Considerable controversy was generated in the United States after two incidents regarding
Taiwanese American basketball player
Jeremy Lin and the network
ESPN occurred in the same week. An editor used the phrase as a headline on the company's web site in February 2012; the headline was titled "Chink in the Armor", and referred specifically to Lin. The headline was a reference to Lin's unsuccessful game against the
New Orleans Hornets, suggesting that Jeremy Lin's popularity and winning streak were weakening. While ESPN has used the phrase "chink in the armor" on its website over 3,000 times before, its usage in this instance was considered offensive because it directly referred to a person of Asian descent. The editor, Anthony Federico, denied any idiomatic usage, saying "This had nothing to do with me being cute or punny ... I'm so sorry that I offended people. I'm so sorry if I offended Jeremy." On-air ESPN commentator
Max Bretos also used the same phrase to refer to Lin, asking "If there is a chink in the armor, where can Lin improve his game?" Bretos apologized, saying "My wife is Asian, would never intentionally say anything to disrespect her and that community." Comedy television show
Saturday Night Live satirized ESPN's use of the phrase, In the skit, three sports commentators were featured happily making jokes about Lin's race, while a fourth drew contempt for making similar comments about black players. In 2015,
The Wall Street Journal used the idiom in a
tweet to promote an article about various difficulties China's
paramount leader Xi Jinping was encountering. The organization subsequently deleted the post, stating that "a common idiom used might be seen as a slur. No offense was intended." In October 2018, TBS baseball announcer
Ron Darling, who himself is of Chinese descent, used the phrase during a Yankees-Red Sox playoff game, referring to the performance of
Japanese pitcher
Masahiro Tanaka and immediately received similar criticism. Darling later apologized for his unintentional choice of words. ==References==