ESPN’s Racist Jeremy Lin Headline Was Mind-Blowingly Ignorant

on February 21, 2012 at 1:18 PM

Jeremy LinJeremy Lin, the Asian American, Harvard graduate, upcoming star point guard for the New York Knicks, faced his first loss on Friday to the lowly New Orleans Hornets after enjoying a seven-game winning streak. We've had to deal with the insanity of "Linsanity" while he was winning, but what was most interesting to see was how the media dealt with him when he lost. Needless to say, racism reared its ugly head in some of the coverage.

One of the biggest culprits was one of the biggest names in sports media: ESPN. Since Lin is defying all sorts of stereotypes, these kinds of comments about him are, unfortunately, expected -- but when it does happen, it's still very shocking and sad, especially when it comes from such well-respected sports media. Two ESPN employees were punished for their comments that had racial undertones, and it was the least ESPN could do. Here's what happened:

When the Knicks lost to the Hornets on Friday, ESPN, for some crazy, this-guy-must-be-drunk reason, ran the headline on their mobile website: "Chink in the Armor."

Omg, really, ESPN?

Hopefully I won't need to go into semantics regarding how offensive the word "chink" is to Asians. I've been called the name before in a derogatory manner and hesitate to even write it out. It's a word meant to insult and, like the n-word and k-word, should never be said, let alone published on a hugely popular website. Even though the word "chink" does have another meaning and it could be argued it was just a pun, the fact that the headline was targeted about Lin, who's Taiwainese ... well, you can't help but figure Lin's race was part of the reason they ran that headline.

ESPN quickly fired the guy who wrote it and issued this 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.

That wasn't it on ESPN's part. Max Bretos, an ESPN anchor, used the same phrase during an interview about Lin. He was suspended for 30 days.

Bretos apologized on Twitter, saying: "My wife is Asian, would never intentionally say anything to disrespect her and that community." I don't know if it makes it any better or worse that Bretos has an Asian wife and still spoke that phrase. How dumb can you be? And of course ESPN issued yet another statement.

Even though I'm kind of sad for humanity that this happened, I do think the firing and suspension were enough of a punishment, and that we should all move on from this incident. But, come on, really, how difficult is it for the media, whose words will be broadcast to millions, to think of another phrase that carries the same meaning without using a derogatory word?

As a fellow Asian American, Jeremy Lin has been inspiring to our community, and even though he's lost his first couple of games, we'll always defend him for the barriers he's broken. Asians in general tend to be forgotten about or silenced in mainstream media, so it's been awesome watching an Asian athlete the entire world can rally behind. Let's hope all media outlets learn from ESPN's mistake, and they realize that pulling stunts like this will never be acceptable.

Do you think the ESPN employees should have been punished for using that phrase?

Image via Stephen_Curry/Wikimedia

About the author Jill Baughman

is the copy editor of The Stir and geeks out over all the nuances and weirdness of the English language.

Filed Under: athletes, basketball, espn, nba, news, sports reporting

Comments (26)

billsfan1104

on Feb 21, 2012 at 1:28 PM

bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahah. You guys are pathetic. You guys give words way too much power.

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on Feb 21, 2012 at 1:29 PM

and its not racist. People have twisted that word around so much, that if you make a stupid joke, everything is racist.

pezcharlotte

on Feb 21, 2012 at 1:35 PM

I am sorry Billsfan how in the world is that word not considered racist in this context. When used in reference to someone who is of Asian background it is absolutely racist. The phrase "chink in the armor" is in itself not a problem but when it is being used to specifically talk about the member of the team who is of Chinese background then it absolutely is.

Facebook comment from Elizabeth Gronewald

on Feb 21, 2012 at 1:36 PM

I honestly believe that "chink" was not meant that way in the title. That is a common phrase used to describe a weakness in the defense. Yes, it can be meant the other way, but I had to think about it for a second before I twisted it that way. Bad choice of phrasing, yes, but it is possible that the use of that phrase was not intentionally offensive. Sports journalists and writers in general often use imaginative phrases to catch the attention of the reader.

on Feb 21, 2012 at 1:38 PM

Pez, because it is not racist. It is a stupid play on words. The guy who said it, is not asserting his power over this basketbal player and doesnt think that his race is better than the Chinese race. That is the definition of racism, when you think your race is better than anothers race, not a stupid joke.

on Feb 21, 2012 at 1:43 PM

Furthermore, there have been plenty of instances where titles are not fully thought out. Look at any news website or blog to find examples. Either the person that came up with this title did not think it through, or it was a way to slip in a racist comment while under the guise that it was a slip-up.

on Feb 21, 2012 at 1:47 PM

It was an example of stupidity on the part of the headline writer. He should never have used that term in the first place. He should have been fired for his stupidity in using that term. And I agree Elizzabeth that sports writers use imaginative phrases to catch the attention but he should have known better.

on Feb 21, 2012 at 2:01 PM

It is easier for me to forgive being accidentally offensive than being intentionally offensive. The writer did not think that title through. At all. He should be disciplined, but not fired, though, because if he was not intentionally being racist, why should he have to suffer the same as if he was intentionally being offensive? Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone says or does something once in their life that is offensive to many people when they do not mean to be offensive. Better to teach him that he should be careful by punishing him and giving more thought into screening the content than to ruin his career over one mistake.

ArmyGal

on Feb 21, 2012 at 2:11 PM

No one should ever use the word Chink. The only time I have ever heard it was when people were trying to be offensive to ME. Some of you people are ridiculous. "Common phrase" my ass. I guess you don't find it offensive because people don't call you racial slurs.

Nonmember comment from ele4phant

He may not have thought it through or used it intentionally, but chink in reference to someone of Chinese decent is extremely derogatory, so when writing about the performance of someone who IS of Chinese decent, there should of been a "Duh - maybe a should pick a different phrase." moment. Intentionally or not, it was a dumb title, and he (and his editors!) should have been a little more cognizant of the implications. There are plenty of other ways to get across his thoughts on the subject without using a word commonly conflated with racist sentiments.