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ESPN Takes Action In The Three “Chink In The Armor” Incidents Involving Jeremy Lin

According to ESPN, they have “dismissed” the employee responsible for offensive and inappropriate Mobile headline regarding Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin. They also suspended ESPN anchor Max Bretos (left) thirty days for his “chink in the armor” comment. See the complete statement, after the jump.

At ESPN we are aware of three offensive and inappropriate comments made on ESPN outlets during our coverage of Jeremy Lin.

Saturday we apologized for two references here. We have since learned of a similar reference Friday on ESPN Radio New York. The incidents were separate and different. We have engaged in a thorough review of all three and have taken the following action:

- The ESPN employee responsible for our Mobile headline has been dismissed.
- The ESPNEWS anchor has been suspended for 30 days.
- The radio commentator is not an ESPN employee.

We again apologize, especially to Mr. Lin. His accomplishments are a source of great pride to the Asian-American community, including the Asian-American employees at ESPN. Through self-examination, improved editorial practices and controls, and response to constructive criticism, we will be better in the future.

This seems like appropriate action, considering. You can make the case that, while still highly inappropriate and unfortunate, making an off-the-cuff comment live on television is different than sitting down and writing a headline, in which you have sufficient time to edit, re-think and, if you deem necessary, take it back. On air, what comes out of your mouth stays out of your mouth. For better or worse.

[photo via Reddit]