I don’t know Anthony Federico, the ESPN editor who lost his job after coming up with the now-infamous “Chink in the Armor” headline about Jeremy Lin. I wish him no ill will of any kind, and I respect his desire to clear the air after the firestorm his ill-conceived headline incited. I do not, however, have to like the way he went about it, and I like even less that members of the media are calling it “powerful” and “moving.”
Here’s what I have a problem with:
Actions speak louder than words. My words may have hurt people in that moment but my actions have always helped people. If those who vilify me would take a deeper look at my life they would see that I am the exact opposite of how some are portraying me.
They would see that on the day of the incident I got a call from a friend – who happens to be homeless – and rushed to his aid. He was collapsed on the side of the road due to exposure and hunger. They would see how I picked him up and got him a hotel room and fed him. They would see I used my vacation time last year to volunteer in the orphanages of Haiti. They would see how I ‘adopted’ an elderly Alzheimer’s patient and visited him every week for a year. They would see that every winter I organize a coat drive for those less fortunate in New Haven. They would see how I raised $10,000 for a friend in need when his kids were born four months premature. They would see how I have worked in soup kitchens and convalescent homes since I was a kid. They would see my actions speak louder than my words. They would see that these acts were not done for my glory, but for God’s. They would see that each day I live and will continue to live a life of joy and service.
There is something distasteful about listing your charity work as a defense when your colossal public fuck-up offends millions of people and costs you your job. It demeans the act of volunteerism — as if those hours dedicated to a good cause were just going on your emergency resume, placed behind glass that reads BREAK IN CASE OF RACIAL SLUR. (“Hey everybody, sorry about saying ‘faggot,’ but I did rescue a litter of kittens from the kill shelter last year!”) It strips the altruism from an act of kindness, and that depresses the shit out of me.
I have no desire to make or keep Federico a villain, for he isn’t. He’s a person who made a stupid mistake, who committed a fireable offense (and yes: on-air talent has been excused for worse; that doesn’t mean others should be excused for the same behavior. Life is, was, and will continue to be unfair). I’m merely saying that, given the overwhelmingly positive response to his TwitLonger apology, he shouldn’t be praised any more than he’s been vilified. We’re all human. We do good things. We make mistakes. We apologize and move on.
I have nothing but admiration for Federico’s dedication to Haitian orphanages, Alzheimer’s, his homeless friends, premature babies, and premature homeless albino orphaned babies of endangered species, but I can’t help but wondering: if Federico’s as dedicated to God’s glory as he says he is, why is he so concerned with people judging him? I thought only God could do that.
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[paraphrased] “When you give alms, do not be like the hypocrite who does so for all to see. I say to you he has received his reward already.”
I feel like I’ve read that somewhere before…
+Matthew 6:2
Very timely, since that was yesterdays Ash Wednesday gospel.
It was also the reading at yesterday’s Ash Wednesday services. Ironic.
Nice to know someone else went to church yesterday.
I know! And from KSK too…
I have a church just out my backdoor? No really, just step out on the deck and it’s right there. I could hit it with a rock.
/throws rock
Holy shit!
/dons fire proof drawers
“Federico Apology Slick, Greases Wheels with Charity Work”
See the problem now, Anthony?
/Slow Clap
I see what you did there, and I approve your message.
You forgot “Federico Wop’ped with Firing”
/Sorry… I tend to slur my sentences
couldn’t agree more
More controversial ESPN headlines:
Niggardly D (When an NFL defense keeps the other team from scoring)
Spick and Span (When a Latino baseball player throws a no-hitter)
/I haven’t gone too far have I?
I’ll allow it.
I didn’t think I’d be the only one put off by his apology.
He may well be Brother Teresa, but his second sentence rendered his apology meaningless: “It was a lapse in judgment and not a racist pun.”
His saying it wasn’t a racist pun is an insult to the intelligence of copy editors everywhere. Of course it’s a racist pun, and I can assure you that every copy editor everywhere made the same joke in their head.
I’m surprised he didn’t go with, “Some of my best friends are Asian.”
Like Max Bretos using the old “my wife is Asian” excuse? Totally worked.
Or something like “Hey, my wife is black…now let’s go down to Orlando where Dwight Howard is juggling watermelons!”
“I’m not a racist and I’d like to nip such talk . . . Uh, I mean, it was just a harmless jap . . . JAPE. A harmless jape. This type of yellow jour . . . You know? I’m a bigot. Fuck it.”
+1
For about 10 words, I thought this was an actual response to the story. Something that would have gone along the lines of, “I’m an attractive, caring, honest, good hearted woman who finds this offensive, blah blah blah.”
Anyone else get fooled there?
Anyone? Bueller?
“They would see that these acts were not done for my glory, but for God’s.”
Yeah, because that’s what God wants you to do when you’re altruistic–brag about it.
There’s a lot a spambots recently
Nah, because these spambots have been trolling the Uproxx comments sections for awhile now. Although now that you mention it, a woman in search of bilover does sound intriguing…
His apology falls flat when you see some of the other headlines he’s penned over the years:
“Jungle Fever” when describing Tiger Woods’ collapse at Doral Country Club.
“Dago in the Heart” when describing a 9th inning home run by Giambi against the Red Sox
“Razzoli Conquers Slope” when describing Italian Giuliano Razzoli’s victory in the slalom over Japanese skier Akira Sasaki.
It’s just a pattern with this guy.
I think your comment slants in a certain direction; you better zipper it up.
Wop a load of bull.
This is all just as the flying spaghetti monster foretold. Praise be to him.
Yes, Praise Him.
Marinara to HIM.
Too bad he wasn’t around for the next Knicks game to write the headline:
“Knicks Sour Kraut by Defeating Nowitzski’s Mavericks”
he should have just said, look how can I be racist against asian when I had yellow fever for most of college?
Maybe I’m debating semantics here, but how did the starving and exposed homeless guy get to a phone? Does he have a cell phone? I’d be able to take his entire apology *slightly* more seriously (it’d still be a self-aggrandizing justification for being racist, though) if I had answers to these questions.
Also, “if Federico’s as dedicated to God’s glory as he says he is, why is he so concerned with people judging him? I thought only God could do that.”
/pours out liquor for 2Pac
The homeless dude has a burner for to contact his meth distributor.
More importantly, why did he let his homeless friend be homeless to the point of exposure and hunger? You really RUSHED to his help didn’t you.
Absolutely; his apology rings false or at least greatly exaggerated.
Here’s the other thing:
If he knew what he was doing, he’s an asshole and should be fired.
If he didn’t, he’s an unacceptably shitty editor and should be fired just for sucking.
DING DING DING DING DING
Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.
I thought I’d further drive home the good point.
Listen, if you didn’t know you were being scammed you’re too fuckin’ dumb to keep this job, if you did know, you were in on it. Either way, YOU’RE OUT! Get out. Go on, let’s go.
I think the real scandal here is that ESPN actually has editors.
I was moved by his apology and believe ESPN acting cowardly in firing him. I, too, didn’t like his recitation of all the good things he’s done, and I agree that it would not be helpful to his case IF what he wrote was unambiguously malicious. However, what he wrote was a double entendre. If I thought he wrote “chink” in a malicious way, I would find it inexcusable. But I believe him when he says that the double meaning was in no way intended, in part because of his recitation of all his good deeds, which vouch for his character. In a world in which judgment is rendered in seconds on the slimmest of fact cases, Federico rightly felt he had to hold nothing back.
I think you typed in the wrong web address. Please go back to posting on Good Housekeeping site.
a co-worker’s step-sister makes $61/hour on the laptop. She has been out of work for seven months but last month her income was $21877 just working on the laptop for a few hours. Read more on this web site N U T T Y R I C H . C O M
WOW! That’s NUTTY rich!
Is your co-worker’s step-sister hot?
And is she into “charity” work?
Isn’t it somewhat important that Federico was just fired and is presumably looking for work? He screwed up and apologized for it. However, he has also done admirable things. While he was in danger of being pigeon-holed as the racist, ESPN headline writer, he decided to be proactive and try to convince the world that he’s not a terrible person.
Volunteerism is often used on resumes, presumably to increase a persons chances for employment. Does that bolded heading on a resume demean the act of volunteerism strictly because the person now may benefit from the hours he or she spent helping others?
I like the idea that people who do good things may benefit from doing those things in the future.
To put it another way, if Matt had made a comment that some military members found offensive, wouldn’t it be entirely fair for him to mention all of the good things he has done for the troops (including his participation and fund-raising efforts for “Fight Gone Bad”)? While such an opinion wouldn’t change the nature of his (hypothetical) comment, Matt has earned the right to talk about his accomplishments. Federico should be afforded the same right.
TLDR; Interesting viewpoint expressed by Matt but I disagree with his conclusions.
I could be wrong, but I think Ufford would just apologize (if he found it necessary) and move on without listing merit badges irrelevant to the topic at hand.
What Federico said is only irrelevant if you think he was trying to justify his behaviour. Federico was rebutting the notion that he is a terrible person. He admitted that he made a mistake (“an awful editorial [c]omission” and “a lapse in judgment”).
If people are saying that you are a terrible person or are making comments about you based on one mistake, it is entirely relevant to list your “merit badges”. There’s nothing wrong with Federico being judged on his behaviour. However, I don’t see the problem with Federico asking people to also consider his good behaviour.
Of course you disagree; the Captain FAILED to allow himself to be manipulated by a suspect, whiny, bait and switch “apology”.
What’s the difference between being manipulative and being persuasive? Federico doesn’t believe that he should be defined by one mistake and knows that writing about his good deeds may change other people’s opinions about him. He got fired and doesn’t want to be unemployable. He apologized and then decided to essentially post his resume online. How is that not apologizing and moving on?
hawksfan: I say irrelevant anyway. I’m not going to say Federico is a racist monster. That’s not the case at all. But I say irrelevant because by all accounts, Michael Vick really liked children and did a lot of charity work when he was a Falcon.
That’s an excellent point, Porky. My counterpoint is that with Vick, people generally knew about his charitable works and had the opportunity to figure out how to appropriately balance the monstrous thing he did with his good works. Ultimately, in the court of public opinion, many people found that his good works were so trivial in comparison to his actions as to be irrelevant.
No one was going to perform that balancing act if Federico wasn’t proactive. If people still want to vilify Federico (or Vick) after undertaking that balance, well, people are entitled to their opinion.
The reason I wanted to comment on this post is because Matt took an interesting tact that I found thought-provoking but not convincing . Rather than focus on what was said initially, Matt wanted to discuss the apology specifically. Most people, including Federico, seem to agree Federico fucked up. However, it seems pretty obvious to me that if the only thing people know about you is that one time you fucked up, people are going to have an exceedingly negative opinion about you.
I think we were all being less critical of his initial action than of the fact that he was trying way too hard to draw attention to himself in the aftermath. Granted, being a public pariah probably has its down side, but…uh…
…dick joke.
Porky, that’s where you and Matt lose me. The guy was fired. If he doesn’t draw any attention to himself, his chances of getting another job remain low. Presumably, he would like to work again. If he can tell the truth and make himself more employable, I think he should (and did) do exactly that.
/hoping this goes in right thread.
I said “DICK JOKE” sir!
Adam Federico tweet from this morning: “how can I be racist against asians, Gook Morning Vietnam is one of my favorite movies???”
A person can spend their whole life building bridges, but you f*ck one goat…
It’s disappointing that Federico felt he had to go this route. He should have stood up for himself and defended his entirely defensible mistake the right way:
1. “I’ve used ‘chink in the armor’ in headlines on several previous occasions (true)”
2. “Seriously, you think I used ‘chink’ as a slur? Who has said ‘chink’ in the last 25 years? It’s so archaic that even when composing a headline using the word, this particular meaning of ‘chink’ never entered my mind.”
” …if Federico’s as dedicated to God’s glory as he says he is, why is he so concerned with people judging him? I thought only God could do that…”
That’s as fucking douchy as anything in the apology. A fucking atheist is suddenly an expert in what God does or does not want. Give me a fucking break douchebag.
You were doing so fucking well up to that point. Then you blew it in chunks.
And it isn’t fucking fair not to fire both of the fuckers.
And it is all about fairness. From the fucking start to the fucking end. Fairness, Fairness. Fairness.
So fire the fucker that said it live. And yes I know he has an Asian wife. Not fucking relevant. Asshole shouldn’t have said it. So should be fired.
I bet Jaws was thinking it too, so fire that fucker as well.
Spotting hypocritical behavior of certain christians is not limited to other christians.
I have to agree with Dick Joke. I’m hazarding a guess that, “if Federico’s as dedicated to God’s glory as he says he is, why is he so concerned with people judging him? I thought only God could do that” is coming from the well-known, “judge not, lest ye be judged”. That is, supposedly, ‘do not judge others’. So it makes sense that someone not familiar with Christianity would read it that way.
The actual meaning is, “judge not, lest ye be judged accordingly’. That is, be prepared to be judged by the same standards by which you judge others. Boiled down to its core, it means, “don’t be a fucking hypocrite”.
Thanks for the time. I owe you all five dick jokes.
I’m not sure that Federico’s behaviour was hypocritical. If I understand Christianity correctly (I don’t), the gist of that quote is that God’s opinion is most important. In other words, if President Zyborg instructs me to kill my neighbour and God indicates that I shouldn’t, I should listen to God.
However, if a person believes God’s opinion is the most important does not mean that the opinions of other people cannot have an impact on his/her life. For instance, if you were recently fired from a major sports organization amidst charges of racism and many people had formed negative opinions of you, it may prove difficult to get a job.
Matt’s allowed to make comments about other people, including people that don’t share his beliefs. However, if I’m understanding his point correctly, he seems to be implying that Christians should not verbally defend themselves when attacked because only God can judge them.
A quick google search also implies that the phrase appears nowhere in the bible. The phrases that do appear in the bible It may be slightly unfair to state that all Christians should follow the words of Tupac or are automatically hypocrites. I’m probably missing something here.
So here’s my first installment payment.
A liberal, a moderate, and a conservative walk into a bar. The bartender says, “Hey Mr. Romney, what can I get you?”
/Romney replied, “a dick on the rocks”.
Second installment: [i963.photobucket.com]
Who said I was an atheist? Fuck you.
Me. doh.
Rip a guy on what he wrote. Brilliant. fair game. Go for it. Be as fucking nasty as you like. I’ll laugh.
But rip a guy for not living up to to a standard of christian behavior that you fucking invented?? That’s fucking douchy. That’s fucking 5th grade douchy.
That’s as fucking douchy as anything in the apology. A fucking atheist is suddenly an expert in what God does or does not want. Give me a fucking break douchebag.
This kills me. Is anyone REALLY a fucking expert on what God wants? No, people just assume what He wants based on faith. It’s like saying I’m a Liam Neeson expert because I’ve read some interviews that other people conducted and I’ve watched a few of his movies.
Who in the 5th grade is douchy? Fifth graders are generally pretty cool little kids.
I’ll consider your arguments when you make a point clearly and without making assumptions that are more egregious than the ones you accuse me of making.
Oooo that’s fucking telling me. And you got pals in 5th grade. And you know big fucking words too.
Here’s a 5th grade puzzle for you: 6 letter word starting with D rhymes with oosh.
Dick Joke; you are some debater. You certainly convinced me.
@Dick Joke
Troller be trollin’ … or at least I hope that’s what you’re doing.
My argument is simple: A professional should know every part of their job including, but not limited to the possible ramifications of doing his job incorrectly. English as a language has been pretty much codified for over half a millenia, so I’m pretty sure that, as an editor, he should be able to spot a possible slur in his sleep (even if the sleep is the product of the effects of yellow fever). In other words: He fucked up, got fired, and HAW HAW! I’ve been fired for less AND for more, and I could give a fuck about his future job prospects. In fact, I’d rather not read an article written or edited by someone who couldn’t pick out a headline that would be offensive to the largest growing global demographic, regardless of his charity works.
You, “Dick Joke” are either a Fundie, a Tea Party asshole, or both. I grew up with Euros and they didn’t become douches until 7th grade at the earliest.
Note to self, when interested in a particular topic and eager to debate it on the internet, make sure to proof read before posting so that you don’t insert “The phrases that do appear in the bible” randomly into your comment.
JFC! This is worse than the “Your just a hater! Hater bitch! U suck!!1!” Tebow post comments.
ESPN memo:
[tosh.comedycentral.com]