ESPN Fires Headline Writer, Suspends Anchor

The sports network has taken swift and decisive action against two employees who used the phrase "chink in the armor" in describing the New York Knicks, Jeremy Lin's NBA team.

ESPN says it fired the employee who used the phrase "chink in the armor" in a headline about a New York Knicks loss in which breakout NBA star Jeremy Lin had nine turnovers, the AP reports. Further, ESPN anchor Max Bretos has been suspended for 30 days for his own use of the phrase on Wednesday.

Bretos has been tweeting about his suspension today. Here is what he wrote:

"Wanted 2 apologize 2 all those I have upset. Not done with any racial reference. Despite intention, phrase was inappropriate in this context."

"My wife is Asian, would never intentionally say anything to disrespect her and that community.''

"Wanted to thank all those for their support. Has meant a lot to me and my family." 

In the Philip Roth novel The Human Stain, the protagonist, a college literature professor named Coleman Silk, asks of two absent students: "Do they exist or are they spooks?" The students were black, however, and the ensuing uproar leads to Silk's resignation. Truth: equally as strange as fiction.

UPDATE: In other Lin news, the point guard and media sensation was back in business for today's game against the Dallas Mavericks, scoring a 3-pointer in the fourth-quarter that led to a 104-97 win for the Knicks.