ESPN has issued not one, but two apologies after an “offensive” reference was used on its mobile website and on television, concerning the play of Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin.
The first apology came after angry fans and readers caught a headline that appeared on ESPN’s mobile site after Linsanity came to an end—for one day—when the Knicks lost to the New Orleans Hornets on Friday night.
So after the Knicks disappointing loss to the 7-23 Hornets, an offensive headline appeared on ESPN’s mobile site that read “Chink In The Armor.”
It was the first loss the Knicks suffered since coach Mike D’Antoni inserted Jeremy Lin into the starting rotation.
The headline went up with a story just after 2 a.m. on Saturday and was on the site for nearly 40 minutes.
But fans and other readers caught site of the headline and the reaction led to ESPN issuing this 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.”
But that wasn’t all.
The “Chink In The Armor” reference was also used on television when an ESPN anchor dropped that line during an interview with Walt Clyde Frazier after the Knicks’ blowout victory over the Sacramento Kings earlier this week.
This led to another apology from ESPN:
“Wednesday night on ESPNEWS, an anchor used an inappropriate word in asking a question about Jeremy Lin. ESPN apologizes for the incident, and is taking steps to avoid this in the future.”
