On Friday night, ESPN's mobile site posted the headline “Chink In The Armor” for a story about Jeremy Lin and the Knicks' loss.
(via Jim Romenesko)
ESPN has since removed the headline and released the following statement:
Last night, ESPN.com's mobile web site posted an offensive headline referencing Jeremy Lin at 2:30 am ET. The headline was removed at 3:05 am ET. We are conducting a complete review of our cross-platform editorial procedures and are determining appropriate disciplinary action to ensure this does not happen again. We regret and apologize for this mistake.
UPDATE: In a February 19 statement, ESPN said that the employee responsible for the headline “has been dismissed”:
At ESPN we are aware of three offensive and inappropriate comments made on ESPN outlets during our coverage of Jeremy Lin.
Saturday we apologized for two references here. We have since learned of a similar reference Friday on ESPN Radio New York. The incidents were separate and different. We have engaged in a thorough review of all three and have taken the following action:
- The ESPN employee responsible for our Mobile headline has been dismissed.
- The ESPNEWS anchor has been suspended for 30 days.
- The radio commentator is not an ESPN employee.
We again apologize, especially to Mr. Lin. His accomplishments are a source of great pride to the Asian-American community, including the Asian-American employees at ESPN. Through self-examination, improved editorial practices and controls, and response to constructive criticism, we will be better in the future.