Ron Darling Apologizes For Masahiro Tanaka ‘Chink In The Armor’ Comment

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Oct 8, 2018

Ron Darling uttered an oft-used idiom that dates back centuries Saturday night, but he still found himself in hot water with (parts of) the Twitter mob.

The TBS baseball analyst put himself in a pickle during Game 2 of the American League Division Series at Fenway Park on Saturday night when he described New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka’s battle with control as a “chink in the armor.”

Despite that saying dating back more than 600 years, the New York Daily News accused Darling of using a “slur,” an assertion apparently based on the fact that Tanaka is Japanese.

Darling, whose mother is Hawaiian-Chinese, apparently felt he needed to make a statement apologizing for his use of words.

“Earlier (Saturday night) I used an expression while referencing Masahiro Tanaka’s recent pitching performance. While unintentional, I apologize for my choice of words,” Darling said in a statement to Yahoo Sports.

While the word “chink” by itself undoubtedly is an awful slur, no one would know better than Darling, given his heritage. His track record as a TV announcer also speaks for itself, so the fact Darling still decided to apologize says a lot about his character or the current social climate — or both.

TBS won’t discipline Darling for the comment, and he’ll be back on the call Monday night at Yankee Stadium for Game 3 between New York and the Boston Red Sox. We’ll have to wait and see whether Darling feels the need to address the situation on air, too.

Thumbnail photo via Andy Marlin/USA TODAY Sports Images
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