Lin has lunch with fired ESPN headline writer

Lin has lunch with fired ESPN headline writer

Howard Simmons/New York Daily News

Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin, seen here driving past Brandon Knight of the Detroit Pistons, broke bread with Anthony Federico, the ESPN editor who lost his job over a racially ch arged headline online.

His career with ESPN may be finished, but at least Anthony Federico had a great lunch date.

The former ESPN editor, who was fired last month for writing a racially insensitive headline about Jeremy Lin, tweeted that he had lunch with the Knicks point guard in Manhattan on Tuesday.

Awesome lunch with @jlin7 yesterday, the 28-year-old wrote. So great to know he is so supportive. Means everything. Beauty from ashes.

Federicos headline Chink in the Armor: Jeremy Lins 9 Turnovers Cost Knicks in Streak-Stopping Loss to Hornets appeared on ESPNs mobile website at 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 19 and was removed less than 30 minutes later. Despite its short shelf life, it went viral around the world and resulted in a furor for the network.

In addition, an ESPN anchor was suspended from the network for using the phrase during a broadcast.

Shortly after the incident, Lin brushed it off, saying he accepted their apology.

Theyve apologized, and so from my end, I dont care anymore, he said. You have to learn to forgive, and I dont even think that was intentional.

Federico, who began his career at ESPN as an intern in 2006, told the Daily News last month he was devastated that I caused a firestorm and expressed his desire to explain himself to Lin.

JEREMY LIN HEADLINE SLUR WAS AN 'HONEST MISTAKE' ESPN EMPLOYEE TELLS DAILY NEWS

On Tuesday, it appears he got that chance.

Federico told Newsday the two discussed everything from their shared Christian faith to the point guards knee injury.

The headline, he told the paper, was an afterthought.

The fact that he reached out to me, Federico said. The fact that he took the time to meet with me in his insanely busy schedule. . . . Hes just a wonderful, humble person. He didnt have to do that, especially after everything had kind of died down for the most part.

We talked more ab out matters of faith and reconciliation. We talked about our shared Christian values and what were both trying do with this situation. ... We didnt talk about the headline for more than three minutes.

A Knicks spokesman told the Daily News that Lin did not want to speak publicly about the lunch.