I'm not easily shocked. Particularly not when it comes to anything that happens in television and related media - you've pretty much seen it all after covering TV for more than two decades.

However, I was flabbergasted when a friend showed me the headline that appeared ESPN's website: "Chink in the Armor: Jeremy Lin's 9 Turnovers Cost Knicks in Streak-stopping Loss to Hornets."

The first word in that headline is, of course, an ethnic slur against Asians that is the equivalent of using the n-word to refer to African-Americans.

ESPN fired the headline writer, Anthony Federico, who called it "an honest mistake." He told the New York Daily News that he had used that phrase "at least 100 times" in headlines during his years at ESPN.

I'm going to accept him at his word. I'm also inclined to believe that, like Frederico, ESPN anchor Max Bretos had no racist intent when he said of Linn on-air, "If there is a chink in the armor, where can he improve his game?"

"My wife is Asian, would never intentionally say anything to disrespect her and that community," Bretos said in a statement, accepting his 30-day suspension. "Despite intention, phrase was inappropriate in this context."

And that's the point. There are those out there arguing that there's nothing wrong with the phrase "chink in the armor." That's true under most circumstances - but not these circumstances.

It's difficult to imagine that anyone at ESPN would intentionally use that phrase to refer to an Asian-American, but it was an incredibly insensitive thing to do. And incredibly embarrassing to Frederico's and Bretos' employer.

(According to ESPN, a "similar reference" was used Friday night on ESPN Radio New York, but the person who used it is not an ESPN employee.)

Like Frederico, I've worked late at night writing headlines. Not all great headlines, certainly.

But no matter how tired I was, I can't imagine putting the c-word in the headline of a story about an Asian-American.

We all make mistakes. This was a big one. And Frederico and Bretos paid for it.

ESPN did what it had to do.