ESPN has acted swiftly and definitively to the outrage of its own creation. The headline writer? Gone. The anchor (Max Bretos) with a similar slip of the tongue? Suspended. Thirty days. The radio guy who made the same mistake? Someone else's problem—he's not an ESPN employee. Phew.


ESPN obviously had to do something to take back control and end the story. Maybe the "ESPN employee responsible for [the] Mobile headline" deserved to be fired. We don't really know because we don't know how it was possible for that headline to come about—but better safe than sorry. He's gone. The Bretos suspension seems a bit harsh for what appeared to be a Freudian slip of the tongue (rather than, for instance, a premeditated, written headline), but there's always collateral damage with these things.


ESPN then apologized to Lin himself, and the entire Asian-American community:

We again apologize, especially to Mr. Lin. His accomplishments are a source of great pride to the Asian-American community, including the Asian-American employees at ESPN. Through self-examination, improved editorial practices and controls, and response to constructive criticism, we will be better in the future.

We look forward to hearing from the Ombudsman at some point around the end of the NBA Finals.

Update (12:05 p.m.): Presumably ESPN also extended its apology to Max Bretos' wife. Who, according to Bretos, is Asian.