What I learned from The Undefeated’ Rihannon Walker

Monday morning, we had a video conference call with The Undefeated Associate Editor Rihannon Walker, a graduate from the Sports Journalism Institute Class of 2002. Going along with the other speakers we’ve had throughout the training week, Walker answered questions and dished out professional advice on how to succeed in the ever-changing industry. Overall, Walker was one of my favorite speakers we’ve had so far. But there was a moment in her session that stuck out to me; a moment that made me think in a way I haven’t before. It had to do with her view on last year’s Oscars and Chris Rock’s performance as a host. While brief, Walker expressed her distaste for Rock’s decision to bring out two Asian children for a controversial skit. Walker commended Rock for his overall approach to hosting an Oscars that centered around the controversial #OscarsSoWhite subject matter, but she also found that one particular skit to be in bad taste and hypocritical. She added a startling statistic about the scarcity of Asian Americans in Hollywood. This stood out to me. As an Asian American, it was refreshing to hear another ethnic minority – especially one with a heavy presence in sports media – provide an unbiased perspective on a moment that didn’t directly relate to Walker’s own ethnicity. Walker’s main objective at The Undefeated is to produce polarizing, engaging content on race and sports, and to see her not afraid to speak up for the Asian American community proved to me that conversations about ethnic diversity are shifting in the right direction.  As a nation, we will always have room for improvement concerning ethnic diversity. But important figures like Walker are saying and doing the right things to help propel this topic forward. -- Hayden Kim