Jeremy Lin Picked A Hell Of A Time To Discuss The Discrimination He Faces As An Asian In The NBA

YardBarker-  In a lengthy interview with Steve Serby of the New York Post, Lin was asked if he still encounters racism on the job or in everyday life. He hinted that he believes he is a victim of racial profiling when he’s stopped by arena security.

“I still get stopped when I try to go through away arenas and stuff, and I’m walking with my teammates, and obviously none of them are Asian but I’m the only one that gets stopped, and they ask for my credentials, stuff like that,” Lin explained. “‘Hey, we need your credentials,’ or ‘Are you part of the team?’ Stuff like that. But I really don’t let it affect me. … I’m so used to it now. It doesn’t bother me.

“There’s gonna be racism everywhere I go, and some of it’s more subtle, some of it’s less malicious. I mean, every day there’s guys with certain stereotypes or whatever, and it’s not just me. But yeah, I still go through it.”

Lin also said he sometimes has “really racist things” said to him on Twitter, but he understands that is an unfortunate part of the world we live in.



If timing is everything then Jeremy Lin can forget about that 3 year, 36 million dollar contract because he literally has nothing. That's not that I don't think that an Asian that has to deal with racial   profiling is worthy of our collective attention. It's that I don't think an Asian that make $12 million/year and faces that "racial profiling" while walking into his place of employment is deserving of our attention. Especially not while innocent black civilians are being gunned down, honest white police officers are the undeserving targets of the retribution, and it seems like every other day people are being killed by the handful based solely on their ethnicity or religious beliefs. That's not to say that his point doesn't hold any validity, but it is to say that soundbite was probably better off stuffed into his back pocket until serious racial issues took a rest and the sun came up on the current state of divisiveness plaguing this country. The prejudice that Jeremy Lin faces - the type that Chris Rock once so aptly dubbed "sideways racism" - really only manifests itself as a minor convenience at the hands of uneducated security guards using context clues.

I think it's safe to say we - as a nation - have bigger fish to fry then making sure a professional basketball player disguised as a Brooklyn hipster with an asshole haircut gets into the locker room unimpeded. You know, considering the fact that it's the NBA offseason and the United States is resembling a stale black and white cookie that's crumbling all over itself more and more by the day. No offense Jeremy, but you kind of sound like the one kid that asked "so we're NOT going to take the test today?" immediately after the announcement that a plane hit the World Trade Center came over the loud speaker. To put it simply, cleansing the world of Asian stereotypes isn't currently high on the 'To-Do' list.