File this under Sounded Funny at the Time.
MSG Network is facing backlash after the New York Knicks TV crew flashed a graphic of the team’s Asian-American star Jeremy Lin … coming out of a fortune cookie.
Following the Knicks’ seventh straight win Wednesday night, MSG showed viewers an image featuring point guard Lin’s head in between ends of the broken snack.
“The Knicks’ Good Fortune” was the fortune.
CNBC’s Darren Rovell was the first to post the image on Twitter, pointing out that MSG was “walking a fine line” with the offensive image of Jeremy Lin.
Lin, who has come out of nowhere and taken over the league in recent weeks, is the NBA’s first American-born player of Taiwanese or Chinese descent.
Reaction was less measured in the hours that followed. Some on Twitter called the graphic “a tad on the racist side.” Others called it “accidental racism.”
Interestingly, the fortune cookie is actually an American invention by most accounts; it dates back to San Francisco in the late 1890’s to early 1900’s.
It’s loosely based on a Japanese cracker, no less. Come on MSG.
Are race-based jokes like this considered okay because he’s a Harvard educated Asian-American? It’s hard to say, but MSG isn’t alone in pushing the angle. Check this out: