Evangelism and Missions

Jeremy Lin shares how he responds to racial stereotypes in the NBA: ‘I just shake it off’


(Facebook/Jeremy Lin)

Jeremy Lin says, ‘I’m so used to [racism] now. It doesn’t bother me.’

Even at the height of his career, NBA star Jeremy Lin still suffers from racial discrimination.

“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 [are] guys with certain stereotypes or whatever, and it’s not just me. But yeah, I still go through it,” he tells the New York Post.

As one of just a few Asian players in the National Basketball Association, Lin stands apart from his colleagues. Every time he travels with his group, he is the only one who gets stopped and questioned.

“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,” he tells the New York Post. “‘Hey, we need your credentials,’ or ‘Are you part of the team?’ Stuff like that.”

Being discriminated against used to upset Lin a great deal, but he has learned to deal with it in a positive manner. “I just shake it off, it’s not a big deal,” he says. “I really don’t let it affect me… I’m so used to it now. It doesn’t bother me.”

Lin recently signed a three-year, $36 million contract with the Brooklyn Nets, and his fans are quite excited to see him create another season of “Linsanity” for the team.

But the Christian athlete clarifies, “This isn’t the recreation of Linsanity. This is, for me, just the next chapter. That’s all I’m gonna focus on. If people want to call it whatever they want to call it, they can go ahead and do that, but I’ve kind of set out to see how good I can become and see how good I can make this team.”

Original Article

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