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The espn.com homepage after Jeremy Lin's Knicks lost to the Hornets - Source: Supplied
Now before I embark on this column I must inform you that I am a paleface-caucasian-qweilo-palagi-honkey-albino-Hutt-mullet-bogan-pakeha. If that makes any difference to you at all.
"Linsanity", aka NY Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin, has hogged almost every US sports headline written this last fortnight, the Taiwanese-American's become an instantaneous, yet bona fide, NBA superstar.
If that's not even slightly strange, considering the guy's only started six actual games, then this decision by leading American sports broadcaster ESPN to sack an online editor, for penning the headline "Chink in the Armour", is just plain Lincomprehensible.
Don't get me wrong, the headline was wrong on every level. Offensive, stupid and doubly so given that it was (we're assuming) meant to be funny, failing miserably in even that department.
But does he deserve to be sacked for it?
Look, we all say stupid things sometimes. And not just broadcasters either. Dumb things. Unthinking things. And then regret them terribly.
I was with Paul Holmes the morning of the "cheeky darkie" comment and know how twisted out of context that whole episode was. Holmes, rightfully, was supported by his bosses and everyone moved on.
Last year Murray Deaker let slip the "N" word on SkyTV. Absolutely, utterly inappropriate, as well he accepts, but should the man have had his career ended because of it?
Here's what Lin himself had to say:
"I don't think it was on purpose or whatever, but they've apologised and from my end I don't care anymore. We have to learn to forgive and I don't even think it was intentional."
Hearing that, and presuming this isn't/wasn't part of the writer's regular repertoire, do you still believe his action truly deserves the career-beheading consequence?
The answer, ESPN, is NO.
Public humiliation, like the guy's wearing right now, is a much more effective "punishment". Ridiculed by his peers, I doubt he'll ever write anything else like it again.
And as a parent with two young lads I'd rather be explaining to them why it was wrong and how the adults calmly and cleverly resolved the issue leaving a wee lesson behind that hopefully young minds might absorb.
I don't know the sub-editor in question, I don't think his headline was anything other than sad, but I'm a one man protest demanding that he be reinstated.
Hey ESPN, in the immortal words of Boom/Tom/The Coach.
"C'mon Maaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnn".
And just a wee heads-up for future reference regarding the name of our World Champion rugby side, the "All Blacks".
Whatever you think, please don't take it literally.
Were ESPN right to sack their editor over the headline? Comment below.
Add a Comment:
Post new commentCassidy M said on 2012-02-21 @ 17:56 NZDT: Report abusive post
For starters you need to compare apples with apples. Comparing racist comments between NZ and USA journos is just plain ridiculous. There were clearly racial connotations mean't with his comment and being fired was the least that could happen. Martin your opinion pieces are just becoming even the more ridiculous to read, may i suggest you talk about more important things like Lins rise to fame for instance. Take some tips from Guyon Espinar
Bach said on 2012-02-21 @ 17:00 NZDT: Report abusive post
Deaker and Holmes should have been sacked. It's disgusting and only shows deeper racism in Kiwi society. Well done to the USA and shame on this site for leading with this piece are crap.
G Sacramento said on 2012-02-21 @ 15:25 NZDT: Report abusive post
This is the USA, in the USA racial senitivities are the highest level. I suspect the headline was an error and was NOT intended to be funny at all. I lived in USA for 11 years and travelelled there doing busness a decade more. Racial jokes are NOT acceptable. For exmaple black comedians may use the N word but noone else , noone would use a racial epithet on TV commentary. The guy was fired and he deserved to be.
TTT said on 2012-02-21 @ 11:38 NZDT: Report abusive post
Setting high standards and putting a line in the sand so every one knows there is 0% tolerance level for racial abuse or innuendo will stop it occurring regularly in the future. Some one has got to be the fall guy and take the punishment to enforce these high standards.
getsmart 99 said on 2012-02-21 @ 11:37 NZDT: Report abusive post
Is your intention is to speak in code Martin ? Maybe you should say at least once what ESPN is. This added to your invented word Lcomprehensible makes your comment really useless if you were trying to make some point ..