What does this show have to do with "ninjas"?

I guess the thing that gets me is that "ninjas" are a specific type of person, and it's like the people who watch this show, I'm guessing, mostly don't even think about what a "ninja" actually is, and tune in to see some home athlete navigate some very bizzare obstacle courses.

I'm just kind of not understanding how it is you can have an idea of what a ninja is, then tune into this show, and not see anything remotely referring to medieval Japanese culture, and "get into it".

That's what really gets me. It's like if I created a show called "American Knights Challenge!", complete with Gothic lettering for the titles, and a closeup of a medieval knight on a horse charging someone with a lance, and then throw up the EXACT SAME TV SHOW, with guys and gals in spandex wrestling gear, and told them to have at it.

It's like no one, except for a few history nerds like me, would bat an eyelash and question where all the medieval knights were in the show. They'd just tune in to see some crazy athletics ... the kind of contests you made up by yourself or with your friends.

But everyone thinks it's great. You could call the thing ... "AIRCRAFT CARRIER WARRIOR!" or "AMERICAN MASSAI WARRIOR!" and put on the exact same thing, and none of the audience would question it, or think to question it.

It would be interesting to know what kind of personal history the producers have.

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What does being a "Social Justice Warrior" have to do with this show?

Good question.
A certain group perceives they have been discriminated against, which may or may not be the case. They at times seek social justice to remedy the situation as opposed to actual justice such as is found in a court of law.

Social justice has been defined as "justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society." (emphasis added)

Here's an analogy to illustrate unequal opportunities and a remedy using fictional countries and a school:
A school gives out a test to qualify potential students for admission. Each part of the three given must be passed before taking the next one. Historically applicants from Slobovia have done poorly on exams, while applicants from Neatopia have performed better. In order to remedy the perceived inequality, additional opportunities are given to applicants from Slobovia. Using the principle of social justice, they are allowed to take the final (third) exam even if they failed the first one. Meanwhile, applicants from Neatopia that scored higher than the ones from Slobovia by passing the first exam after failing the second one are denied the opportunity to re-take the final exam.

Social Justice Warrior, shortened to SJW, is a term used to describe those that hold socially progressive outlooks in areas such as feminism and political correctness. They are generally found online. They attempt to remedy real as well as imagined inequality in our world.

In the case of American Ninja Warrior, the "remedy" has been to penalize better-performing male athletes for not just one year but now two. There is no legitimate basis for doing this on a show where the winner is based upon the best performance, so the producers have resorted to social justice (undeserved opportunities) to allow less-qualified competitors to compete.

Had female athletes actually been discriminated against, then there would be a basis for giving every wildcard to females for two years in a row. The success of Jessie Graff and other females has proved they have not been discriminated against, so the actual discrimination has been against the better-performing male athletes. A few members here have noticed this and commented on it.

Accordingly, Social Justice Warriors are running this show, so the name should reflect this. The fact it only required changing one word and adding another made it an easy re-titling.

Ignoring politics doesn't mean politics will ignore you.
-Pericles paraphrased in <100 characters

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