This is outrageous.
(via)
Open thread, if you like.
UPDATE: Looks like I’m late on this story. Here’s ESPN’s apology:
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.
Um, yeah — you’re going to need to do better than that, ESPN. “Conducting a complete review of our cross-platform editorial procedures.” What the what? What does that even mean? How about “the use of the term ‘chink’ was racist and offensive,” or “we apologize to Mr. Lin and to the Asian-American community for use of an ignorant and racist term steeped in historical racism against Asian-Americans, racism that is rarely if every discussed” or “Wow. We’re assholes. Can you believe we thought that referencing an Asian-American as “chink” was a good idea?”
And then maybe talk about what proactive steps you are taking to ensure that this doesn’t happen again and that the persons responsible are held accountable. Babbling about “cross-platform editorial whosywhatsits” isn’t going to cut it.
Hell, at least pretend you’re going to make your editorial department take a diversity seminar. Fail.
Holy crap! I’m going to go out on the limb and say the editors of that piece and everyone in the chain of command of approval is White. It appears very difficult for people to run the possibilities of their words for all their meanings and or they actually don’t care.
Thanks for posting this Imani, glad you got a screen cap. The fucktards at the worldwide leader have already scrubbed the sight.
I’m sure they will hide behind some non apology apology : “Our staff were unaware of the negative connotations and if anyone in the Asian community was offended, we apologize. “
I guess you haven’t seen this fuckery
http://larrybrownsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/jeremy-lin-msg-fortune-cookie-530×567.jpg
It seems now to get some attention, they’re going the racist or being racially insensitive route more and more
JEEZE LOWEEZ! Whoever wrote that is either ignorant as rocks or didn’t give a flying rotten fig about using an offensive term for an Asian person. ESPN’s so called apology sounds like a Palin word salad to me. What in Hades is a “cross-platform editorial procedure?”
Of course, I’m so cynical, I think the person who wrote it chose the word chink on purpose with a smirk on his face.
Fuck ESPN. I stopped reading them a long time ago, and this does nothing to make me want to read them again.
Wow, ESPN. I mean…wow.
The level of stupidity…it’s always been around, but it seems like it’s been increased since PBO came on the scene. Some of the garbage people spew these days…
Whatever. Its words. If I were a supremacist of any sort and I noticed that a certain group of people could be agitated by a mere word, then I’d consider myself one step ahead by having that word in my arsenal. I wouldn’t be afraid of the people that are aggravated by a certain word or slur; I’d be afraid of the people that appear to be immune to it.
I was wondering what the “apology” was about while browsing their site. ESPiNners…O_o
Translation from corporate crisis-communications speak:
“Shit. Goddamn web kids. Excuse us while we go find out who hired the b-tard from 4chan, and shoot them in the head. In the mean time, we would like all you lovely colorful people who make us obscenely wealthy to have a cookie and look at that squirrel over there. And remember, if it wasn’t for us, you’d only have Fox Sports.”
I agree with the smirk comment. A high school editor could claim ignorance, but rest assured a polished writer knew damn well what was being said. They managed to apologize without indicating they got the point. In other words, they pulled a Komen.
Well, I still think that ESPN is the CNN of sports reporting– a very high hype to substance ratio– but they have now done the right thing and fired the employee responsible.
I agreed with your take when you wrote the update, ABL, but it now appears that they figured out what happened and responded accordingly in a pretty swift manner here.