February 19, 2012; Source: ESPN | Last week, NPQ took note as Fox sports commentator Jason Whitlock issued an apology for an offensive racial tweet about NBA phenom Jeremy Lin. Now ESPN finds itself issuing a similar apology.
After the Knicks’ winning streak—spearheaded by Lin—ended Friday night, ESPN’s mobile website ran the headline “Chink in the Armor.” The racial slur, regularly suffered by Asians—including Lin, during his Harvard days—was immediately noticed and quickly spread via Twitter and the blogosphere.
The offensive headline was taken down in less than an hour but the damage had been done.