So, the other night, I was driving home from work after Jeremy Lin and the Knicks lost their first game in a while, and listening to ESPN Radio advertising the growth of the “legend of Lin.” I actually thought to myself, “how long before someone slips up at ESPN and throws out ‘chink in the armor’ in reference to him?”

Turns out, the answer was a couple hours.

Being a copy editor, if I were working at ESPN and that were my shift, I would have never allowed that to get out, partially because I had thought of it already, and would be sure to preempt any attempt to throw it out there (ESPN, if you’re looking for a Web editor, I’m looking for a job ;)).

That being said, it wasn’t so much the use of that word that offended me, though I’m sure it’s no accident it was racially charged, and that was exactly the meaning they were going for. But after all, it’s only a word, and it really doesn’t mean much. It might belittle Asian-Americans a bit, but I don’t really find it dehumanizing the way other racial slurs can be.

I was already more put off by the coverage ESPN has been providing for the last couple of weeks or so regarding Lin’s sudden rise in the media (the media being ESPN).

To me (or anyone who follows ESPN on a regular basis), their constant referral to his ethnicity was ridiculous. Some things that flew under the radar include the radio ad I referenced earlier (complete with Asian gong sound effect) and a couple of respected broadcasters on ESPN Radio discussing “ShaoLin” as a possible nickname.

To me this constant reference to “Asianness” is much more a sign of racism that might exist at ESPN and in the media in general. The fact that they let a racial slur slip (not only on the website, but an announcer used the phrase on TV!) kind of just confirms suspicions that all of these things aren’t coincidence, and it brings all of it under the umbrella of racism.

It’s almost as if the entire story regarding Lin is about his ethnicity, like, “Hey, he’s an Asian who can play sports, who woulda guessed?!”

Never mind the endless number of angles they could play up, like him going unnoticed as a bench warmer in the NBA for several years before suddenly and unexpectedly breaking out a couple weeks ago. Or the fact that he’s from Harvard, hardly a hotbed for NBA stars. Or how about the fact that he’s a pretty damn good point guard who pulled the Knicks from mediocrity to relevance in the NBA. Those are all pretty good stories, but ESPN’s gotta bring up a fact made obvious by his name and appearance that he’s an Asian-American finding success in sports.

I mean, it’s not as if there’s never been other Asians who have succeeded in sports. Hines Ward of the Pittsburgh Steelers comes to mind, but he’s mixed (half-Korean, half-African-American. Maybe if one of those halves were white they’d mention it?); Tiger Woods anyone? (same deal about mixed race); Michael Chang; as well as foreign Chinese and Japanese athletes, notably Ichiro Suzuki, Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian, two of whom were awesome, and the other is, um, hanging around somewhere, i.e. he’s not good.

The point is, it’s not as if there haven’t ever been any other Asian sports stars in the U.S., so why make a big deal about it now?

Though, as an Asian-American myself, I do take pride in fellow Asian-Americans’ successes. I’m happy to see Jeremy Lin in the news because he “one of us,” so to speak. In the same way, I like tennis player Novak Djokovic because I’m part Serbian, and he’s from Serbia. And I don’t mind bragging that he’s ranked No. 1.

And at the same time, I myself like to have fun with my heritage. When I was in high school, one of my friends called me the “Great Wall of China” when we played soccer. I didn’t find that offensive, and I thought it was funny. My soccer skills were also pretty funny because I was terrible. Being mixed, I often say I put the “Asian” in “Caucasian.” I could see how some could take offense to something like that, but I’m proud of all of my heritage, and I personally don’t find it hurtful in any way.

Along the same racial lines, Japanese baseball star Hideki Matsui was nicknamed “Godzilla.” Though it was actually coined for him in Japan, it stuck when he came to Major League Baseball. No one deemed it offensive, though he apparently got the name because of his rough skin, which sounds pretty mean. Instead, he turned it into a positive.

So, the difficulty I have in Jeremy Lin’s case is where to draw the line between praising a person for breaking stereotype and reducing that person to stereotype. How do we celebrate someone’s differences without being distracted by them?

And you know, I’ve never really faced anything in the way of oppression for my race. Kids when I was young would talk about me being Chinese, but that was 20 years ago, when society wasn’t nearly as politically correct as it is now. And I haven’t really been stereotyped for my race since I was in high school. And everyone is an idiot in high school, myself included. And I took my ribbing for more being Polish than for being Asian.

But I’m not going to downplay the fact prejudice is still strong in America, including against Asians. There are many groups of people who are still oppressed, and I know there are many Asians who have suffered and do still suffer for their ethnicity.

So, I struggle trying to figure out how to reconcile pride for one’s group and heritage without reducing people and their heritage to stereotypes, and how to not take oneself too seriously while also not putting up with harmful prejudice.

But I’m thinking in general, most people can tell the difference between friendly ribs and blatant racism. But then again, I can be proud of my Asian-American brother without ESPN having to remind me he is one.

And I’m sure Jeremy Lin will be OK after ESPN’s gaffe. After all, I know he’s heard worse.

If anyone has any thoughts on this, they would be very welcome. Especially if I’m on the wrong track. After all, I don’t want to hurt anyone.