Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl
ESPN apologized Saturday for leading its mobile website coverage of Knicks phenomenon Jeremy Lin’s streak-ending defeat with an ethnic slur in the headline.
The phrase, which carries obvious racial overtones when used in reference to a person of Asian descent, lasted more than 30 minutes on the site before being removed at around 3:05am ET on Saturday.
Amid widespread online condemnation, ESPN confirmed in a statement that it was “conducting a complete review of our cross-platform editorial procedures” to discover how the “offensive” headline made it onto the site.
The sports network said it was “determining appropriate disciplinary action to ensure this does not happen again.”
The statement added, “We regret and apologize for this mistake.”
Lin, the first Asian-American to start an NBA game and an adopted hero in China, committed nine turnovers in the Knicks’ surprise 89-85 loss to the New Orleans Hornets at Madison Square Garden on Friday night.
The defeat snapped a seven-game winning streak with the previously unheralded Harvard graduate, who emerged in spectacular fashion with a run of elite performances to lay claim to the team’s starting point guard spot and garner global acclaim.
ESPN replaced the headline with “All Good Things …” on the site, above an into that read “… must end in New York. Jeremy Lin got sloppy Friday and it cost the Knicks in the end.”
