Jeremy Lin Goes To Lunch With Anthony Federico, ESPN Editor Who Wrote 'Chink In Armor'
Knicks star point guard, Jeremy Lin, had lunch on Tuesday with the former ESPN employee who wrote the phrase chink in the armor to describe Lin's performance during a losing game.
Lin, however, bore no ill feelings about the comment. Anthony Federico, the fired editor, said he only used the phrase as a way to describe Lin's turnovers in a game. However, back in February, he sparked outrage for writing a headline that was deemed to be racist, although Federico said it was simply an honest mistake.
Federico, 28, said the lunch was incredible.
I'm just so excited we had a chance to meet, he said, according to Newsday. We talked for an hour. I'm just so thankful.
The day of the February incident, the Knicks lost a game to the Hornets. Federico wrote Chink in the Armor: Jeremy Lin's 9 Turnovers Cost Knicks in Streak-Stopping Loss to Hornets for ESPN's mobile website. The headline was removed about 35 minutes after it was first published.
I'm so sorry that I offended people, said Federico to the Daily News in February. I'm so sorry if I offended Jeremy.
Lin, however, brushed off the incident and immediately forgave Federico and accepted his apology.
You have to learn to forgive, he said according to the Daily News.
Lin, however, was more hesitant to discuss the meeting publicly. A Knicks spokesman said he did not wish to comment on the lunch, reported Newsday.
But Federico was glad to finally have the chance to talk to Lin face-to-face.
Lin's family reportedly got in touch with Federico over a month ago through email, after he apologized about the incident. However, due to Lin's busy schedule, they had to delay the encounter until Tuesday.
The fact that he reached out to me, Federico said, according to Newsday. The fact that he took the time to meet with me in his insanely busy schedule ... He's just a wonderful, humble person. He didn't have to do that, especially after everything had kind of died down for the most part.
Federico said that the pair did not spend much time discussing the incident and instead spoke about their religious beliefs and forgiveness.
We talked more about matters of faith [and] reconciliation, said Federico. We talked about our shared Christian values and what we're both trying do with this situation ... We didn't talk about the headline for more than three minutes.
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