ESPN Apologizes for Inappropriate Lin Headline

The online community quickly saw the inappropriateness of the headline and reacted across the social media landscape. ESPN had this to say this morning in response:

Last night, ESPN.com’s mobile web site posted an offensive headline referencing Jeremy Lin at 2:30 am ET. The headline was removed at 3:05 am ET. 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.

I am not Asian-American or a minority. When I saw the headline my first response may have been similar to that of the person writing the headline (also likely NOT a minority)…that this was a setback in the elevation of Jeremy Lin as the next great NBA star. I saw no racial connotation whatsoever. That’s bad on me. We all need to be respectful of others when we speak or write. We should never need to be reminded of that.

For those looking to jump on the “ESPN is Evil” bandwagon, make sure you keep individual perceptions in mind before you take that leap. Someone at ESPN made a mistake. There’s no reason, at this time, to think that the mistake was anything but unintentional. If that’s the case I don’t think the headline writer should be fired. The ESPN response was swift and appropriate. In my mind, end of story.

http://sportsmediajournal.com/