With his sudden rise from NBA benchwarmer to must-see TV, Lin, 23, has crushed all kinds of conventions – like the one that said he was a nice Ivy League player but would never thrive in the NBA. Lin, an Asian American and a Harvard grad, is a first. Harvard has produced more US Presidents (eight) than NBA players (four, and none since 1950s).
In college, Lin faced additional challenges, including frequent racial taunts – real original stuff like a fan yelling, “Sweet-and-sour pork!” When Lin entered the gym for one summer-league game, someone redirected him: no one was playing volleyball that night!
Of all the drives, dunks and dazzling shots Jeremy Lin is forcing upon the stars of the NBA, none of it compares with the moves he's putting on a larger collection of everyday people. Jeremy Lin has dribbled America into the previously quiet corner of its casual prejudice and lazy stereotypes of Asian Americans.
It's been barely two weeks since the beginning of a tale that rocked the sports world with great basketball and bad puns, but so much already has changed. When America now looks at Lin, it should see more than an Asian American kid from Harvard who overcame ignorance at every level to become a star guard for the New York Knicks. America should see itself in the murky reflection of a society that has long considered it reasonable to publicly categorize Asian Americans in ways that would never be acceptable for other, more vocal minorities.
America should see the game video from the Knicks' MSG network in which cameras focused on a homemade sign that showed Lin's face above a fortune cookie with the words, "The Knicks Good Fortune.''
"In this country, Asian Americans are stereotyped as the meek and the mild, the ones who will always take the racism," said Daryl Maeda, an associate professor of ethnic studies at the University of Colorado who specializes in Asian American studies. ''There is a perception that it's OK to offend Asian Americans because they simply won't fight back.''
"In this country, Asian Americans are stereotyped as the meek and the mild, the ones who will always take the racism," said Daryl Maeda, an associate professor of ethnic studies at the University of Colorado who specializes in Asian American studies. ''There is a perception that it's OK to offend Asian Americans because they simply won't fight back.''
"The one thing I think is interesting about this whole Jeremy Linsanity is that it has forced us to think about how we think and talk about race in general,'' Maeda said. "Asian Americans have long been put into this safe little slot, and Jeremy has taken us out of those places.''
What blesses my heart most about Jeremy Lin is not so much his achievement as an Asian American in a sport that is dominated by non-Asian. It is really his Christian faith that is most inspiring. Before each game, Lin and his Christian teammate Landry Fields would geek out with a handshake ritual:
What blesses my heart most about Jeremy Lin is not so much his achievement as an Asian American in a sport that is dominated by non-Asian. It is really his Christian faith that is most inspiring. Before each game, Lin and his Christian teammate Landry Fields would geek out with a handshake ritual:
1) Fields and Lin exchange snappy high fives with opposite hands
2) They pretend to don glasses, because nerds wear glasses
3) Fields, like Lin a devout Christian, presents Lin with an invisible Bible
4) Lin whizzes through the pages. Must be a speed reader.
5) Old and New Testaments read, both players remove their glasses…
6) ….and stick the in shirt pockets…
7) Both players then point skyward to their God before taking the floor
"Much of it comes down to humility," Lin said. "We as Christians are called to be humble. And if we really understand the Gospel, we will be humble. We should be humble, and understand that everything that is good comes from God."
What a testimony!
It is right for every Christian to testify about God. Give thanks to the LORD….make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles…….[Ps 105:1-10 NIV]
Jeremy Lin and many others before him are great examples of witness. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart……No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees! [Heb 12:1-12 NIV]
