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ESPN Jeremy Lin Headline: Civil Rights Organization Demands More Than Apology
Huffington Post — ESPN has fired the employee responsible for the offensive headline “Chink in the Armor.” The network has suspended the anchor who also used the phrase, the Associated Press reports. —
Though ESPN apologized for referring to Jeremy Lin as “Chink in the Armor” Friday night, an Asian-American civil rights organization isn’t satisfied with the response.
ESPN changed the headline, and apologized, but the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, an organization that promotes civil rights for Asian Americans, wants the network to do even more.
In a statement posted its site, the AALDEF said that the term used was “inexcusable” and wants ESPN to apologize on air so that “it is clear to all viewers that this racist language is unacceptable.”
The AALDEF offered to meet with the network to help educate its staff and establish procedures to prevent such slurs from appearing in their work.
“The time for apologies is over” the AALDEF wrote.
“The media and the general public must understand that racist language and stereotypes used to describe Jeremy Lin are an insult to all Asian Americans, and no one should tolerate their use.”
The headline originated after the Hornets ended the Knicks’ seven-game winning streak, and ESPN attributed the loss to Jeremy Lin’s nine turnovers, and posted the story with the offensive headline.
“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,” ESPN wrote in a statement on its site Saturday. “We regret and apologize for this mistake.”
The incident came just three days after an ESPN anchor used the term “chink in the armor” and one day after the owner of the Knicks aired an offensive image of Lin popping out of a fortune cookie, ESPN published the insensitive headline.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Check out ways to become involved with the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund as it seeks to advocate for issues such as economic justice, education equity and fighting anti-Asian bias. Read this article at the Huffington Post >