Jeremy Lin Media Hype Stumbles on Race - Media Equation - NYTimes.com
The combination of Lin’s ethnicity and accomplishments created some excess, but no one could have predicted how low it might go. On Saturday, an article on ESPN’s mobile site recycled an ancient and blatantly offensive ethnic slur, and in the process suggested that some corners of sports journalism remained a backwater in the culture, a place untouched by a history of civil rights struggle and decades of progress. ESPN quickly changed the headline and has fired the person who wrote it, but not before all but ruining a sweet sporting story.
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This is a story that had something for everyone, including the journalists who covered it. Even though sports reporters are thought to be a deeply cynical bunch, every once in while a tale comes along that turns them all into fanboys.
For me, ESPN’s headline was as repellant as its usual male-fixiated vibe given off by the channel and publications. I wish I’d been as shocked as I should have been by the specifically mentioned headline. But I wasn’t.
