NBA 2012

[VCURamFan]

Just needed a thread in which to post this:

[J.B.]

Just wait till he gets a huge contract extension and his numbers go back to d-league level...

Honestly though, I think the Lin story is great and hope he can turn the Knicks around.

[rearnakedchoke]

i'd be shocked if no one got fired for this one after his 9 turnovers ...

[J.B.]

Originally Posted by rearnakedchoke

i'd be shocked if no one got fired for this one after his 9 turnovers ...

Me and my buddies saw this when it was posted. ESPN has done this before.

[VCURamFan]

Jeremy Lin Comment Gets ESPN 'MMA Live' Host Suspended

Feb 19, 2012 - Max Bretos recently took over as the host of ESPN's MMA Live, but he won't be hosting that show -- or any other -- for the next 30 days, after he was suspended on Sunday morning for making a poor choice of words when referring to New York Knicks star Jeremy Lin.
Bretos, who became the MMA Live host after Jon Anik departed ESPN to work for the UFC, was interviewing former Knick Walt Frazier for an ESPNews segment about Lin when he said of Lin, "He's handled everything very well -- as you said, unflappable -- but if there is a chink in the armor, where can Lin improve his game?"

The word "chink" as a racial slur is totally unacceptable. A powerful column from Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun-Times on Sunday articulates that. ESPN was right to fire an ESPN.com employee who used "Chink in the Armor" as the headline over a story about Lin after the Knicks lost for the first time since Lin entered their starting lineup. A headline needs to be thought over and carefully considered, and using such a phrase alongside an image of Lin is appallingly bad judgment.


But in my own opinion, Bretos did not deserve to be suspended. He made an unfortunate choice of words on live television, but I do not believe there was anything racially motivated in what he said. On that front, I agree with Bretos's colleague Michael Kim, who defended Bretos in a series of messages on Twitter.

"There are thousands of fine, outstanding people at ESPN who I am proud to call colleagues, including Max Bretos," Kim wrote. "I truly believe it was an unfortunate use of words but I KNOW there was no malice there. That came on live TV. But there's a different thought process involved with scripts/copy and headlines. Am I disappointed this happened at ESPN? Yes. But...There is no finer place to work. It is a company that has made diversity in its workforce a priority. I am confident we'll be better because of this in the future. . . . Now if you'll excuse me, my son and I are going to enjoy rooting for the NBA role model I never had. #Linsanity."
Shortly before his suspension was announced, Bretos took to Twitter to apologize.

"Wanted 2 apologize 2 all those I have upset. Not done with any racial reference. Despite intention,phrase was inappropriate in this context," Bretos wrote. "My wife is Asian, would never intentionally say anything to disrespect her and that community. I have learned from this will make every effort to avoid something similar happening again."

MMA Live is scheduled to return this week at 11 p.m. Eastern on Friday. On Sunday afternoon an ESPN spokesman told MMAFighting.com that the network is looking into the question of who will fill the host's chair on MMA Live this week.

[J.B.]

"My wife is Asian"

This made me laugh harder than the headline....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z4m4lnjxkY

[Bella79]

That chink comment is just unacceptable. I don't find it humerous at all.. Stupid jerk he can call his wife chink, but geesh do that in the privacy of your own home.

[VCURamFan]

Originally Posted by Bella79

That chink comment is just unacceptable. I don't find it humerous at all.. Stupid jerk he can call his wife chink, but geesh do that in the privacy of your own home.

Bretos, IMO, just got caught in a bad coincidence. "Chink in the armor" is a common enough phrase & it's only unacceptable when in this context because of Lin's ethnicity. Bretos was wondering where there may be a weakness in Lin's game, a gap in his skill set, so it's natural choice of analogy.

The headline, on the other hand, I absolutely have a problem with. That was something where a guy sat down, thought it out & said "Yeah, this is totally a good idea". He's either really dumb or else thinks the rest of us are.

[J.B.]

Originally Posted by VCURamFan

He's either really dumb or else thinks the rest of us are.

I can't remember who said it, I think it was on the radio, but it's similar to the part in the movie Casino when the slot machines keep paying out over and over again. Then Robert DeNiro fires the slots manager and says something to the degree of; "either he was in on it, or he was too stupid to realize what was happening, either way he is out."

[VCURamFan]