ESPN has fired a mobile content staffer and suspended an anchor after three comments about the NBA basketball player Jeremy Lin were deemed offensive.
In the first case, a headline on ESPN.com that read "Chink in the Armor" drew the ire of the Asian American Journalists Association and resulted in the dismissal of the staffer who wrote it.
The headline was posted on ESPN's mobile site at 2:30 a.m. and removed by 3:05 a.m. "We regret and apologize for this mistake," the sports network's director communications for digital media, Kevin Ota, said in a blog post Feb. 18.
Earlier in the week, an anchor for ESPNews used the same phrase and has received a 30-day suspension. A third reference on ESPN radio was made by a commentator not employed by the sports network.
“We are glad ESPN has recognized its mistake, and we appreciate the quick apology for the transgression," the AAJA said in a statement. “Many people, not just in Asian American communities, are shocked that a news company with a long tradition of excellence would use a racial epithet. It's particularly galling because of the weeks of discussion about Lin, his heritage and even the wave of outright racism surrounding his stardom.”
Ota, a veteran PR counselor, via follow-up post on Feb. 19 apologized to Lin and said ESPN will work to improve editorial oversight. “Through self-examination, improved editorial practices and controls, and response to constructive criticism, we will be better in the future,” he said.
The fired editor, Anthony Federico, told the New York Daily News he had used the phrase several times in the past and didn't realize the negative connotation in the Lin context. "This had nothing to do with me being cute or punny," he told the paper, apologizing for the incident.