ESPN Apologizes for Jeremy Lin Headline with Racial Slur (Video)

ESPN has apologized for a headline about NBA star Jeremy Lin, which contained a racial epithet.

The headline, “A Chink in the Armor,” ran as a teaser for a story blaming Lin for the New York Knicks' loss to the New Orleans Hornets Friday. Lin, a player for the Knicks, is of Taiwanese decent.

The headline appeared on ESPN's mobile site from 2:30 to 3:05 a.m. eastern time, the New York Times reports.

In its statement, ESPN said:

“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.” 

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The same phrase had been used on an ESPNews broadcast Wednesday by anchor Max Bretos, as well as during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. ESPN apologized for the Wednesday incident in an on-air statement read by anchor Jorge Andres.

Andres said an “anchor used an inappropriate word in asking a question about Jeremy Lin.”

A number of Lin's fans took to Twitter Saturday to criticize the headline, including actress Ming-Na, who appeared in ER and voiced the lead character in Disney's Mulan.

"Love you upstanding tweeps who love Jeremy Lin  & don't tolerate racism! Fire the anchor who called him a "chink"! Protest to @ESPN!," she tweeted.

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As the Times reports, ESPN is not the only news organization to have come under fire for its coverage of Lin. Jason Whitlock, a FoxSports.com columnist, was chastised by the Asian American Journalists Association for using an Asian epithet when describing Lin’s star-making performance against the Los Angeles Lakers last week.

Whitlock apologized, and noted his comment had “overshadowed my sincere celebration of Lin’s performance.”