ESPN has announced disciplinary action against the person responsible for the Asian slur on the network’s mobile site and ESPNews anchor Max Bretos who used the same phrase earlier in the week.
ESPN won’t name the headline writer, but needless to say that person has been fired. Bretos has been suspended for a month. ESPN says a person who used the same slur on its New York radio affiliate last week is not a company employee and will not be disciplined.
Here’s the official statement from ESPN.
Follow-up Statement and Action
At ESPN we are aware of three offensive and inappropriate comments made on ESPN outlets during our coverage of Jeremy Lin.
Saturday we apologized for two references. We have since learned of a similar reference Friday on ESPN Radio New York.
The incidents were separate and different. We have engaged in a thorough review of all three and have taken the following action:
- The ESPN employee responsible for our Mobile headline has been dismissed.
- The ESPNEWS anchor has been suspended for 30 days.
- The radio commentator is not an ESPN employee.
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.
More later if news warrants.
