The headline "Ch--k in the Armor" was posted for about 30 minutes on its mobile website before being pulled down by the network. The headline was seen on phones and tablet computers a few hours after the loss.
A statement from ESPN today read: "Last night, ESPN.com's mobile web site posted an offensive headline referencing Jeremy Lin at 2:30 am ET. The headline was removed at 3:03 am ET. We are conducting a complete review of our cross-platform editorial procedures and are determining appropriate disciplinary action to ensure this does not happen again. We regret and apologize for this mistake."
Lin is the NBA's first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent and his mercurial rise— after an unheralded start to his pro career— has been the top sports story over the past two weeks.
The Knicks point guard's stellar play has sparked what has been called Linsanity. His name has been used in numerous puns and fans have created websites devoted to making up new words using his surname.
It is not the first time ESPN has used the offensive term. After the Knicks beat Sacramento on Wednesday, an anchor used the phrase to ask Walt Frazier if there was any signs of weakness in the point guard's game.
An ESPN spokesman said the network apologized on-air for the ESPN News faux pas. He said the network would not apologize on air for the website headline, though they did apologize on their Twitter feed and through statement to the media.
