The future of Jeremy Lin after his potentially season-ending
surgery was explored in a recent blog post on Grantland.
While the article dealt mostly with where in the NBA Lin could go if when he
hits free agency this offseason, it did touch on some notable points with the
future of the February sensation.
Jay Caspian Kang wrote about possible destinations for Jeremy Lin if
he didn’t return to the Knicks, but eventually settled on the fact that “most likely,
Lin will understand that his best endorsement and career potential lies in New
York.” The bright lights and celebrity status that has been adorned on such
athletes as Derek Jeter, Eli Manning, Mark Sanchez, and now Tim Tebow have only
been attained as easily and as quickly because of the fact that they play in
quite possibly the most-watched city in the world. It is certainly the most
covered by the media.
But how will the city that never sleeps deal with a superstar of Asian
decent? The future of Lin goes way beyond his offseason destination and more
into his acceptance as a celebrity in New York, if he stays.
ESPN and other media has given the Jeremy Lin story so much coverage
that it is beyond any concession ever heard of in the history of white news. No
matter if you are a fan of basketball, the media, Asian news, or all three, you
know Jeremy Lin’s name, his background, and what’s happening to him. But is
that only because he has stayed in New York? What if he went to teams with
smaller media coverage such as Toronto or Indiana or New Orleans?
The future of Jeremy Lin not as a basketball player but as a symbol
for breaking Asian stereotypes in sports lies in where he lands as a basketball
player. It’s interesting that his professional career will dictate how his
presence affects the basketball community. Either he can fade into the
background like the few Asian basketball players have done in the past years,
or he can shoot ahead and become a symbol for other players of Asian decent to
come out of the woodwork.
Before African American players became the more dominant race in
basketball, it was almost unheard of for black athlete to play in professional
sports, let alone basketball. Now, as players have become more and more
accepting of this fact and have seen a more frequent showing of this fact, it
is more of a normality for black athletes to perform at a higher level then
most races because they have been doing so for a longer time. Athletes of Asian
decent, however, have not seen an acceptance of greatest at a professional
level, except for a few exceptions such as Yao Ming in basketball and a few
players in baseball. But Jeremy Lin’s incredible fast rise to stardom due to
his unique style of play, his spot on a New York City team’s roster, and of
course his Asian decent has given hope for yet another break in a social
stereotype that has developed over the years.
Unfortunately, the recent injury to Lin has derailed that rise, for
now. He can still make a difference off the court to help break the norm as
well as prove he is still a great player next season when he returns from
injury. However, if he is not in a city or on a team with a large media
following, it is entirely possible he drops out of the spotlight again.
-Tyler Greenawalt
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