However, while Begley was announced as responsible for writing the article, he did not come up with the headline.

It was announced that 28-year-old editor Anthony Federico of ESPN was responsible for following through with the “Chink in the Armor” headline late last week. He said in an apology,

This had nothing to do with me being cute or funny. I’m so sorry if I offended Jeremy.

Federico said he also understood why he was fired, saying that “ESPN did what they had to do.” Unfortunately for him, Federico also openly expressed that he had used the phrase “at least 100 times” in headlines, and did not even realize the potential offense it would cause to the Asian community when he used the phrase on a Lin story.

Federico called Lin one of his heroes - not just because he’s a big Knicks fan, but because he feels a kinship with a fellow “outspoken Christian.”

“My faith is my life,” he said. “I’d love to tell Jeremy what happened and explain that this was an honest mistake.”

California Congresswoman Judy Chu, an Asian American politician, said that “the ‘C’ word is just as bad as the 'n’ word when it comes to racial slurs, and she isn’t letting ESPN off the hook for using the term to describe NBA breakout star Jeremy Lin.” (New York Daily News). She said Monday that “the use of that term is appalling and offensive” on MSNBC.

While this unfortunately cost Federico’s career, the American audience is now becoming aware of the cultural sensitivity the Asian community faces when it comes to the word “Chink”. It is truly unfortunate that Federico lost his job over something that he did not intend. At least now he understands that the word has serious consequences when used in the wrong context - something many in the American public may not have known, scarily enough. Lin responded to the incident:

I don’t think it was on purpose or whatever, but they have apologized and so from my end I don’t care anymore. Have to learn to forgive and I don’t even think that was intentional. Or hopefully not.

Courtesy of New York Daily News writers Rheana Murray, Irving Dejohn and Helen Kennedy.

Written by Doris Truong, Asian American Journalists Association national president and Washington Post multiplatform editor.

As NBA player Jeremy Lin’s prowess on the court continues to attract international attention and grab headlines, the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) would like to remind media outlets about relevance and context regarding coverage of race.

In the past weeks, as more news outlets report on Lin, his game and hist story, AAJA has noticed factual inaccuracies about Lin’s background as well as an alarming number of references that rely on stereotypes about Asians or Asian Americans.

Please give careful consideration to the following tips to ensure fair, accurate and sensitive portrayals of Lin and others who are Asian American.

AAJA and AAJA MediaWatch stand ready to assist any news organizations that have questions or concerns about news coverage and race. We all have the same goal: good journalism.

By Doris Truong.

Courtesy of Doris Truong and AAJA. Click title above for link directly towards Guidelines.

It might be that with Jeremy Lin, the NBA–with its stagnant audience and image problems–may have found an ideal, squeaky-clean star for bringing new fans to the sport.

But more than the just reviving the NBA, Lin’s squeaky-clean image is seen by companies as a holy opportunity.

“They say in the world of gems, the more facets the greater the design,” says Doug Scott, the CEO of Ogilvy Entertainment. “The fact that Jeremy has so many facets is a tremendous plus for him. The more relatable that he is, the better for the brand over time.”

Jeremy Lin, an Asian-American Harvard graduate, couldn’t find a role in the league. Then he scored 53 points in two games for the Knicks.

“In his three bolt-from-the-blue games with the Knicks, Jeremy Lin has proved too quick for opposing defenders, too quick for professional basketball’s marketing machine, even too quick for New York’s black market in counterfeit goods.”
Amidst the “Linsanity” that has taken over the city, fans have been scrambling to find and buy Jeremy Lin merchandise, only to find that they have not yet been made.  Jim Root, owner of the official Knicks uniform store near MSG, reports that the earliest shipment of authentic Lin jerseys will come in two weeks time.  After being on the starting lineup for only a week, Jeremy Lin has become an overnight sensation with his fans.  Even David Chang, owner of Momofuku restaurants, has commented that “dressing up as a superfan is not his style,” yet he is enticed to buy a Lin jersey.  He calls the introduction of Lin to the NBA “the most important event for Asian-Americans in sports history.”

We all remember when Anthony Federico, author of the controversial headline about Jeremy Lin that caused ESPN a great deal of embarrassment, was fired from his job. 

Rumor is that Jeremy Lin grabbed lunch with Federico the other day. Federico came out saying that “The fact that he took the time to meet with me in his insanely busy schedule … He’s just a wonderful, humble person. He didn’t have to do that, especially after everything had kind of died down for the most part.”  The pair apparently discussed their shared Christian values and how they were dealing with the whole fiasco.