Did ESPN Cross the Foul Line Into Racism?

There has been an angry and growing reaction to the use of the phrase “chink in the armor’’ on ESPN — once on air, then again on the network’s mobile Web site — in connection with New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin, the Taiwanese-American sensation.

An offending headline was posted on ESPN’s mobile site and cited Mr. Lin’s nine turnovers in the Knicks’ loss to the New Orleans Hornets, one of the worst teams in the N.B.A.