HUGE ESPN.com mistake

[Random Axe]

Overnight a headline on the front page of their website had a very offensive phrase considering the topic. At best it was a very poor choice of words, at worst its an intentional racial slam.

Everyone has been following the rise of Jeremy Lin. Last night he had an off game. The headline, which lasted 32 minutes, said "Chink in the armor." Under normal circumstances this would be acceptable. Lin is Asian. Someone will lose their job over this.

[EmergencyIan]

I think it's pretty obvious that it's a racial slur. There is not much side stepping that can be done in this case. It was thought out. Someone beleived they were being funny at his expense and made an extremely poor decision.

- Ian

[toys2cool]

oh wow are you serious? I missed it..

[madmarva]

I've worked in print and on-line news for the last 20 years and seen and heard about some embarrassing headlines and other mistakes getting through, but I would be hard pressed to call this instance an honest mistake.

I possibly could buy it if it occurred with a general news organization where not everyone in the process is knowledgeable about sports, but everyone at espn.com should know the ins and outs of Lin's story even if it is the greenest writer or proof reader.

As a sports editor, I always asked my people to never make jokes within their stories or on the page because you just never know. The way copy flows particularly on deadline at small operations unedited copy can make it to press. It's even easier for it to happen online because one click of a button can post an item.

Like Scott said in the first post, someone's probably learned a hard lesson from this, possibly even more than one person.

[Goblin19]

How does that happen in 2012 at a company as big as espn?

[Zemo]

Sorry, but imo that is funny. They still call Chinese food in England chinky. My wife's Asian and she though it was hilarious.

[Random Axe]

That's cool that someone of Asian decent can laugh at this.

I believe this world could use a better sense of humor and not get offended at everything. However, this was purely a dumb thing to write. The phrase would have and could have been used for any team or player except him. Lin is CHINESE.

How can anyone with any sense think that is an appropriate headline? How about "Back to reaLINty?" It is comical in the pespective of just how dumb someone can be. I don't think it was malicious, but it lacks a complete grasp of good taste. What's next, if Miami wins the NBA championship and has a pic of James and Wade holding the trophy they have the headline "Winner winner chicken dinner?" How long do you think that lasts online?

I don't think of this story as specifically racist, just plain stupid and sad. The person who pulled that trigger will likely lose his job and security for his family all over an attempt to be clever.

[Hector]

Lin is CHINESE.

No...Lin is AMERICAN...

[Hector]

BTW...it all boils down to Lin himself, whether he was bothered by it or not.

[Hector]

Lin is Asian.

Better...

[spacecaps]

Here's another one I don't get. "A chink in the armor" is a common saying. The headline made sense to me when I saw it. The Knicks won a bunch of games in a row and then lost one in bad fashion. When they did lose, they exposed some of the teams flaws or a dent in their system or a chink in the armor. I never would have even associated that with a racist comment if it wasn't for the internet getting all up in arms about it. It just seems everyone is so quick to get offended by something these days even the most harmless and in this case appropriate headline causes a stir. Now the other day when they showed the graphic of Lin's face in the middle of a fortune cookie with the caption "The Knicks Lucky Fortune", that I could see people getting a little upset about because it was directed at one specific player that happens to be Asian but this headline was directed at the entire team. Also, there is a difference between being Racist & Racial but we've obscured the lines to where some people don't know the difference between the two any more.

[madmarva]

There is no way that headline can be rationalized or excused in this instance. There is not a reputable news organization in the country that would have allowed the headline to stand.

While I agree with other posters that there may be some of Chinese descent who would not find the headline offensive, news stories and headlines aren't written for individuals. They are written for a broad audience (by broad I don't mean female), and as a business, a news organization that wants to keep the appearance of objective and fair news reporting isn't going to allow a headline like that to stand. It is unprofessional.

[Mawni]

They did a good parody of this on SNL last night.

It's not my job to be offended for other people but that is a pretty racist headline.

[toys2cool]

BTW...it all boils down to Lin himself, whether he was bothered by it or not.

not just him, I think most Chinese/American people are bothered by it..as they should I think he'll laugh it off and think to himself..there's goes your job dumb ***

[toys2cool]

and they just lost their jobs lol