White Sox TV Voice John Schriffen Strikes Out On A Nickname
Posted by ABRockNJock on April 3, 2026, 10:25 am
As the White Sox get ready for their home opener this afternoon vs the American League Champion Toronto Blue Jays at Rate Field, there's new trouble for White Sox TV voice John Schriffen.
During Tuesday's Sox game in Miami, Schriffen brought up nicknames for new 1B Munetaka Murakami during the CHSN broadcast with analyst Gordon Beckham.
No sooner did the conversation start, Murakami drove home an RBI single in the Top 3rd, Schriffen uttered this nickname which didn't quite sit well with Sox brass.
Schriffen called Murakami the “South Side Samurai” and I'm not Japanese, so I'm not offended. Maybe I don't know enough about the word samurai? My limited exposure is reruns of SNL with John Belushi as a samurai.
Re: White Sox TV Voice John Schriffen Strikes Out On A Nickname
I am old enough to remember John Belushi playing a samurai in the very early years of "Saturday Night Live".
When I made the original post this morning, I wanted to word it very carefully & respectfully. I think it's the overall society we're now living in where we all try to watch what we say & how to word certain phrases in this forum without offending.
There was a former ESPNEWS anchor named Max Bretos who was actually suspended for 30 days when he made a reference to former Knicks' guard Jeremy Lin during a highlight of a game that most didn't think was offensive.
A phrase called "chink in the armor" didn't sit well with ESPN bosses in 2012 and got Bretos suspended.
Words matter...And I think we all have to be careful in what we say & what we write.
Re: White Sox TV Voice John Schriffen Strikes Out On A Nickname
If the phrase " A chunk in the armour" can get you suspended, the world has lost its minds. Everyone knows what the phrase means. It has no racial connotation to it. Apparently Jeremy Lin wasn't offended by it. Why would the ESPN bosses have an issue? Yet the media uses certain words to frame a story. For example, take the Jaden Ivey situation. You can agree or disagree with his views, but for the media to use words luke rant and " unhinged" to describe his posts indicate there's a bias against his views. This country has railed against other countries for having biased media but fails to realize that the reporting in this country is also biased,
Re: White Sox TV Voice John Schriffen Strikes Out On A Nickname
I agree to media biasedness. The thing that always gets me is the continual use of the word “disgraced.” The Chicago Tribune uses it all the time. Who decides an individual is disgraced. They use it even a short time after a person is accused of something.
Re: White Sox TV Voice John Schriffen Strikes Out On A Nickname
This country has railed against other countries for having biased media but fails to realize that the reporting in this country is also biased,
Honestly, there are a lot of things that have not aged well. Sadly lot of people are not strong enough to admit or discuss it. Give a listen to Into the Night by Benny Mardones or I Can't Stop loving You by Ray Parker or 17 by Rick James. I cringe listening to them now. But, the other side of the see saw is taking some things too far. This "Chink in the Armour" is a good example of it. Generational difference.
As we get older we are not the center of the billing numbers. This can be seen as the 80s are on the way out, the 90s are being ignored skipping over to 2K. The younger generations are more "sensitive" for a lack of better term to perceived negative connotations. It is easy for them to go back in time and deem something not proper. Wait until they age out and the next generations starts cancelling them out or modifying what is acceptable or not! Media companies due to this, are always weak in the knee when it comes to stuff like this, as we care discussing it. But the hypocrisy is, listen to the contemporary music they are spinning away.
on April 3, 2026, 10:25 am