The New York Times faced criticism Friday after claiming that Asians are “overrepresented” in American figure skating.
“Asians make up around 7% of the U.S. population but have become vividly overrepresented in ice rinks and competitions at every level, from coast to coast,” The NY Times tweeted an excerpt from an article detailing the Asian domination on American ice rinks. “Gradually, they have transformed a sport that, until the 1990s, was almost uniformly white.”
Asians make up around 7% of the U.S. population but have become vividly overrepresented in ice rinks and competitions at every level, from coast to coast.
Gradually, they have transformed a sport that, until the 1990s, was almost uniformly white. https://t.co/XxU7wkUxMp pic.twitter.com/AUyCPWZAhL
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 10, 2022
“In the United States, a country where Asians and sports are not often intertwined in the popular imagination, figure skating is now plainly an Asian American sport,” The NY Times report also said.
The NY Times’ choice to use “overrepresented” to describe the number of Asians in ice sports set off an avalanche of criticism from the left and right.
“‘Vividly overrepresented’? Way to be racist, @nytimes,” tweeted actress Patricia Heaton.
“Vividly overrepresented”? Way to be racist, @nytimes! https://t.co/Kds5IGVWjn
— Patricia Heaton (@PatriciaHeaton) February 11, 2022
CBS senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang asked the NY Times to explain “who says” Asians are “vividly overrepresented?”
“Who’s making that claim?” Jiang tweeted.
“Vividly overrepresented”? Who says, @nytimes? Who’s making that claim? https://t.co/DadqojfyzB
— Weijia Jiang (@weijia) February 11, 2022
Comedian Jenny Yang responded by asking whether it was “appropriate” to use the term “overrepresentation” since Asians are still a minority in the U.S. (RELATED: Parents Group Claims Documents Show Anti-Asian Bias By Virginia School Board)
“Um just because ‘overrepresentation’ is a statistical term doesn’t mean it’s appropriate for social media headlines,” Yang tweeted. “You must’ve known that ‘overrepresented’ is ALSO a very loaded term when used to describe a ‘minority’ population right @nytimes?”
um just because “overrepresentation” is a statistical term doesn’t mean it’s appropriate for social media headlines. you must’ve known that “overrepresented” is ALSO a very loaded term when used to describe a “minority” population right @nytimes? https://t.co/oEFunMyrDC
— Jenny Yang (@jennyyangtv) February 11, 2022
Lindsey Boylan, one of the first women to accuse former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment, called the NY Times’ wording “gross,” adding that it “should be corrected.”
“A rise in anti-Asian violence in the last year should remind everyone that language like this emboldens those with racist views,” wrote Boylan.
A rise in anti-Asian violence in the last year should remind everyone that language like this emboldens those with racist views. This verbiage is gross @nytimes & should be corrected. https://t.co/X3DiciDbU4
— Lindsey Boylan (@LindseyBoylan) February 11, 2022
Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz also spoke out against the NY Times’ phrasing.
“Liberals embrace racism, especially against Asian-Americans,” Cruz tweeted. “NYT complains that Asians are “vividly overrepresented” in ice skating.”
Liberals embrace racism, especially against Asian-Americans.
NYT complains that Asians are “vividly overrepresented” in ice skating. https://t.co/Y2SK8plqiI
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 11, 2022
Parents Defending Education (PDE) Vice President for Strategy & Investigations, Asra Q. Nomani, criticized the NY Times for claiming Asians were “overrepresented.”
“For two years, we’ve been feeling explicit racism against Asians. We’re ‘overrepresented’ at Stuyvesant HS. Thomas Jefferson HS for Science & Technology. Lowell HS. Now we’re ‘vividly overrepresented’ in ice-skating?!” wrote Nomani. “…the anti-Asian bigotry at the NYT must stop.”
For 2 years, we’ve been feeling explicit racism against Asians. We’re “overrepresented” at Stuyvesant HS. Thomas Jefferson HS for Science & Technology. Lowell HS. Now we’re “vividly overrepresented” in ice-skating?! @deanbaquet, the anti-Asian bigotry at the NYT must stop. https://t.co/CuQY4KVPmD
— Asra Q. Nomani 🐻 (@AsraNomani) February 11, 2022
Omani and other parents filed a lawsuit claiming Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST), one of the top U.S. high schools, allegedly created an anti-Asian bias for admissions when it changed the school’s acceptance process, according to Parents Defending Education.
TJHSST is accused of participating in an enrollment scheme aimed at increasing the number of black and Hispanic students, according to PDE. Asian students’ acceptance rate dropped by doing away with the race-blind evaluation instead of a “subjective race-based evaluation,” PDE claimed.
Stop AAPI Hate collected “about 10,370 reports of hate incidents [against Asians] from March 2020 to September 2021,” NBC reported.
