North Haven Native Fired from ESPN over Lin Headline

Many expressed outrage last Sunday when ESPN ran the headline "Chink in the Armor: Jeremy Lin's 9 Turnovers Cost Knicks in Streak-stopping Loss to Hornets" on its mobile website. 

Anthony Federico, a North Haven native and the editor responsible for the offensive title, has since been fired by the sports broadcaster. 

Responding to the furor in an interview in the New York Daily News, Federico expressed remorse for his bad judgement, saying:

"This had nothing to do with me being cute or punny...I'm so sorry that I offended people. I'm so sorry if I offended Jeremy."

Federico, it turns out, is not the only ESPN employee to have used the expression in relation to rising Knick's star Jeremy Lin. According to the Daily News, anchor Max Bretos received a thirty-day suspension for using the phrase on-air last week. 

Lin responded graciously to the Federico and the network's apology, commenting, "They've apologized, and so from my end, I don't care anymore...You have to learn to forgive, and I don't even think that was intentional."

Federico claims that he has used the expression with no racist intent "over 100 times" in various headlines during his tenure at ESPN, and didn't think twice before appending it to the Lin story:

"I'd love to tell Jeremy what happened and explain that this was an honest mistake."

What are your thoughts on Federico's firing? Honest mistake, or unacceptable behavior? Tell us in the comments!