ESPN takes Action for Offensive Comments

Less than 48 hours after the unnamed headline writer wrote a racial slur into the Jeremy Lin/NY Knicks article, ESPN took prompt action by firing the writer and suspending their New Anchor. In my humble Asian American opinion, the News Anchor is lucky to keep his job and the Headline Writer is lucky no one has outed him yet. There is no excuse whether or not the use of the racial slur was intentional or inadvertent, professional journalists should be held to a higher level of cultural awareness standards then the rest of society.

As we were debating the punishment, someone asked me when was the last time I had heard this racial slur, 5 or ten years ago. My response was 2 months ago. I was playing a pickup basketball game at a local park and when selecting teams, one of the captains said, "I will take the C****" and used the C-word to refer to me. When I introduced myself, I told him that I was Japanese-American and that the term he used was like the N-word. Okay, this was the same park where only once in ten years have I seen everyone scatter as a guy left the court to go to his car to get his gun after a game filled with stoppage time and continuous disputes over fouls. But rather than ignore the racial slur like my father, a second generation Nisei would have done as a member of the Silent Minority -- I decided it was time rather than move aside and get out of the way but to stand up for my fellow Asian Americans and take the charge. I was going to enlighten this ignorant young man on racial etiquette. After my brief BTW comment, I proceeded to play 3 on 3 on the same team with Mr C-word. During the game, I could tell he was in complete shock over what I had said to him as the ball arrived in my hands when I had wide open looks more often than I've seen in any pickup game. After the game, he continued to apologize despite my desire to move forward. Nevertheless, it wasn't until Jeremy Lin stepped forward with his comments about hearing these racial slurs that I understood the significance of what Jeremy has done for Asian Americans and other Minorities in America in only a few weeks.

In my humble Asian American opinion, these actions taken by ESPN are fair and just. They are professional journalists and rather than make excuses for their employees, they are holding them accountable for their actions.