ESPN analyst Mina Kimes has responded to former Fox and ESPN personality Jason Whitlock, who defended WEEI radio producer Chris Curtis for making a racially insensitive remark about her.
WEEI suspended Curtis for one week without pay after he allegedly said “I’d probably go with Mina Kimes” when discussing mini liquor bottles, also known as nips, on The Greg Hill Show. The word “nip” is also used as an ethnic slur against people of Japanese descent. Kimes is of Korean heritage. We reported on the backlash Chris Curtis received yesterday and the drama that followed.
Whitlock has a history of criticizing Kimes and other female sports journalists. He tweeted that he did not know “nip” was an ethnic slur. He also questioned how Kimes’ life was impacted by Curtis’ comment. He also accused her of “nailing herself to a cross” and dancing to rap music that uses the N-word.
Kimes did not let Whitlock’s tweet go unanswered. She replied: “Nailing myself to a cross? I made one joke and went back to work…because unlike you, I still talk about sports for a living. Have a great day.”
Kimes’ comeback received widespread support from sports fans and media members on Twitter. They praised her for standing up to Whitlock’s ignorance and misogyny. Furthermore, many posted memes and gifs of Shaquille O’Neal dunking on Chris Dudley as a metaphor for Kimes’ tweet.
Kimes has been one of ESPN’s most prominent voices on various platforms, including NFL Live, The Mina Kimes Show podcast, Highly Questionable, Around the Horn and ESPN Daily. She is well known for her investigative reporting and feature writing for ESPN The Magazine.
Whitlock left ESPN in 2017 after they canceled his show The Undefeated. He then joined Fox Sports 1 as a host of Speak For Yourself until 2020. He currently writes for The Blaze and hosts Fearless with Jason Whitlock on BlazeTV.
