Is Jeremy Lin finally getting more respect?

By Jeff | Saturday, January 2, 2010 | 9 Comments

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On the face of it, Jeremy Lin seems to be getting more respect and exposure. Time Magazine has an article on him called “Harvard’s Hoop Star is Asian. Why is that a problem?” The article talks about the double novelty of a pro-level player not just from Harvard but Asian-American. It also mentions how “racial profiling” stopped him from being recruited by any Division I colleges despite leading a team to a California State Championship and how Lin commonly encounters racial insults at games.

Is Jeremy Lin finally getting more respect?

I find it interesting how the title changed. When John first forwarded the article, it was called “Harvard’s Hoop Star is Asian. Got a problem with that?” Now the title is changed. Was the original title too confrontational to be associated with the stereotypical view of an Asian-American?

More than “why is that a problem,” the question I want to know is why there is seems to be so little outrage against the constant racism against Lin. The article dances around that question, particularly how weakly it hints at the issues with the lack of Division I recruitment: “don’t doubt that a little racial profiling, intentionally or otherwise, contributed to his under-recruitment.” There seems to be a growing trend to deny or dismiss that any racism against Asian-Americans occurs, from the students in Philadelphia to Toby Keith’s escapade at the Nobel Prize ceremony.

So is Jeremy Lin really getting more respect? Despite garnering much praise (“He’s as good an all-around guard as I’ve seen,” says Tony Shaver, the head coach of William & Mary ), accumulating great stats, and playing well against teams like UConn and Boston College, a blog from ESPN points out that he was NOT nominated for the Bob Cousy award, an award given to the best point guards in college. The reason cited is that Lin wasn’t nominated by Harvard. The blogger adds that he thinks that Lin will be added. So is Jeremy Lin really getting more respect? If he actually does get added to the Cousy nominees, then I think we’ll know for sure.

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Leo the Yardie Chick

I don’t see why he should be getting grief in the first place. No, I’m not naive enough to think that we live in a world where race doesn’t matter (there’s not enough marijuana in this country for me to think that way) but they wouldn’t have recruited him if he couldn’t do jack on the court, right?

Before the 60s, one hardly if ever saw players of colour in college basketball. Blacks weren’t thought intelligent and nimble enough for a game that relied on teamwork and co-ordination rather than brute strength. I guess people have forgotten all about that, or else they wouldn’t be ragging on Jeremy Lin’s race.
Big Red One

No…I think it’s more like, they wouldn’t have recruited him even IF he could do jack on the court, as clearly evidenced by the article and his stats.He kicks other people’s asses, it’s just going to invite resentment. If other people kick his ass on the court, it’s gonna invite resentment just as well.He won’t be getting any more respect unless he actually, as the author points out, gets added to the Cousy nominees and/or gets drafted.
Leo the Yardie Chick

Sorry, sometimes I get my “coulds” and “couldn’ts” mixed up. Especially when people say “could care less” when it should be “couldn’t”. But I digress.

Well, if that award will help me, I hope he gets it. I really do.
theotheryoshi

alright, jeff, you’ve sold me on the kid. i’m a bad asian, hoops fan, and former resident of palo alto, not having heard of him before. but he’s bad ass. and he can ball. let’s hope he does well in the draft…
blaackiechan

He was recently added to the list of 30 John Wooden awards candidates. That says ALOT about his game !!
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usernamestaken

Who is disrespecting him? His fellow players on the court all take him seriously as either a great ally or a threatening opponent; outside of that who’s supposed to fall out of their chair to praise this kid? Nominating him for the Cousy award? That’s a little insane. He’s good. He’s VERY good. But he’s not an elite-level point guard yet. Hopefully he’ll do well enough at the collegiate level that, if he wanted to, he can improve his game and become an all-star level pro, but with other point guards who are showing stronger performances against better teams, we can’t go crazy just yet. Let’s give this kid credit for performing really well out there in spite of the hurdles before him, but let’s also not go insane and say it’s time to “kiss the rings” just yet.
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