“Chink In The Armor” headline referred to Asian American athlete Jeremy Lin.

After Jeremy Lin’s first loss since he was placed in the New York Knicks starting lineup, ESPN.com posted the headline “Chink In The Armor” under a picture of Lin on Friday night. The headline was taken down after 35 minutes, but not before a screenshot was captured that went viral.

Meanwhile, ESPN News anchor Max Bretos asked, “If there is a chink in the armor, where can Lin improve his game?”

The headline writer was fired, and Bretos has been suspended for 30 days.

While “chink in the armor,” is an overused cliche involving sports, the word “ch*nk” is also a racist slur against Chinese, one that Jeremy Lin endured on one occasion coming from a college basketball opponent.

It could very well be that both the headline writer and Bretos made the reference accidentally, as it is often used. I would think that would especially be the case with Bretos, since he perhaps had less time to think about it being live on the air.

Nonetheless, with the conversation about race that Lin’s success has caused, ESPN was right to reprimand both. Punishments are handed down for sloppy worksmanship as well as for intentional comments.

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