“No one expects anything from you and no one thinks you are going to be good.“
“Why this is an advantage is that everyone takes you lightly, and the minute you step out into the court and you give it to them, you will immediately earn their respect. But no one is going to give it to you right away. Not in America at least.”
- Jeremy Lin, speaking at a press conference in Taiwan about being an Asian in the sports world.
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#Jeremy Lin #Asian #SportsWatching, much less, following sports has never been my thing, that is until I caught Linsanity (along with thousands of others around the world)! The web, but most importantly, my Facebook news feed has been bombarded with news updates regarding Jeremy Lin, the rookie, Asian-American, Harvard graduate who has led the New York Knicks to seven consecutive wins. Unfortunately, this winning streak broke last night after a tight game against the New Orleans, Hornets. Despite the lost, the explosion of Jeremy Lin can still be dubbed as the “Linderella” story. A story of the catapult to fame, essentially overnight of a young man, who had been cut by two NBA teams before joining the Knicks (bench) and had been on the brink of being cut by them too had the coach not been forced to include Lin in the lineup due to injuries on the team. And after that, I’m sure you have read all about it either on Facebook, or any other source of media these past few weeks.
But, aside from Lin’s obvious talent as a basketball player, another reason why the Knicks has had a stellar run after Lin’s first game is due to Lin’s leadership skills. While Lin’s own talent for the sport is spectacular, he realizes that for the Knicks to reach optimal performance, basketball should return to what it’s suppose to be, a team oriented game. Lin does not hog the ball; instead, he believes his duties as the team’s point guard is to “distribute and get people in a rhythm.” With a rhythm amongst the team, they can operate as a unit and bring their best game. During this past Wednesday’s game (2/15/2012) the number of points scored by the top players was pretty much evenly distributed. The top eight players that night each scored between nine and fifteen points.
With this new view of the Knicks’ play, their past dismal performance has been blamed on their selfish, ego driven plays. The main target of these allegations has been placed on Carmelo Anthony, who has a history of ball hogging. Now, with Anthony scheduled to return from his injuries, it remains to be seen if Anthony can adopt this new style of play as well.
P.S.: For those who have caught extreme Linsanity, and have a few grand lying around, the Knicks are auctioning off Jeremy Lin’s jersey worn against the Lakers last Friday for a good cause.
Written by Doris Truong, Asian American Journalists Association national president and Washington Post multiplatform editor.
As NBA player Jeremy Lin’s prowess on the court continues to attract international attention and grab headlines, the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) would like to remind media outlets about relevance and context regarding coverage of race.
In the past weeks, as more news outlets report on Lin, his game and hist story, AAJA has noticed factual inaccuracies about Lin’s background as well as an alarming number of references that rely on stereotypes about Asians or Asian Americans.
Please give careful consideration to the following tips to ensure fair, accurate and sensitive portrayals of Lin and others who are Asian American.
AAJA and AAJA MediaWatch stand ready to assist any news organizations that have questions or concerns about news coverage and race. We all have the same goal: good journalism.
By Doris Truong.
Courtesy of Doris Truong and AAJA. Click title above for link directly towards Guidelines.
Jeremy Lin, an Asian-American Harvard graduate, couldn’t find a role in the league. Then he scored 53 points in two games for the Knicks.
Set as a broad bio mockumentary/musical parody, “Jeremy Lin: The Musical” will be based on the “true” story of Jeremy Lin’s life in Harvard to his success in the NBA. For those of you in the San Francisco area, you can watch it at the Phoenix Theatre Annex from October 26th - October 27th.
Learn more on their Facebook page here.
The Lin-sational story has come to a surprising and sad halt. This past weekend, it has been announced that Jeremy Lin will no longer play for the Knicks for the remainder of the season.
After tearing the meniscus in his left knee, Lin is now required to sit out from the court for six weeks and undergo arthroscopic surgery. He will be missing the rest of the season, which ends on April 26, and potentially the playoffs, if the Knicks make it.
Lin has admitted it being difficult to sit out and watch his team play, according to the Christian Post.
“It’s disappointing for me,” he said in a Madison Square Garden press conference on Saturday. “It’s hard to watch the games, and I think I want to be out there, obviously, more than anything, to help the team. Hopefully I can come back as soon as possible and still contribute this season.”
Lin also thanked his fans for the support.
“Thanks for all the love! I’ll return from this surgery stronger / better than before and hopefully in time for the playoffs,” Lin said.
He also tweeted from the Bible. “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens… He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” The passage is from Ecclesiastes 3:1 and 11 (New International Version).
Get better soon, Lin!
Courtesy of Christine Thomasos of The Christian Post and Howard Beck of the New York TImes. Click on the links for their articles.
This is pretty much the cutest thing ever. In case you needed a pick-me-up from all the angrymaking things on the internet today.
Another great, up-lifting video by the Jubilee Project! The Last Pick, featuring Jeremy Lin.
Stefon Diggs spent most of his high school career being lauded as one of the nation’s top football recruits. By the time the Good Counsel (Md.) School defensive star and top-10 Rivals.com overall prospect (he’s projected to play wide receiver in college) picked Maryland as his college destination, he had attracted the attention of nearly every school and major football fan in the country.
With that experience in the 18-year-old’s pocket, one would think that Diggs would be well versed in the threat posed by unchecked social media postings. However, as this rather offensive tweet about Jeremy Lin dug up by Larry Brown Sports proves, one would be wrong to give Diggs that benefit of the doubt.
Stefon Diggs’ Jeremy Lin Tweet — Twitter
However, while Begley was announced as responsible for writing the article, he did not come up with the headline.
It was announced that 28-year-old editor Anthony Federico of ESPN was responsible for following through with the “Chink in the Armor” headline late last week. He said in an apology,
This had nothing to do with me being cute or funny. I’m so sorry if I offended Jeremy.
Federico said he also understood why he was fired, saying that “ESPN did what they had to do.” Unfortunately for him, Federico also openly expressed that he had used the phrase “at least 100 times” in headlines, and did not even realize the potential offense it would cause to the Asian community when he used the phrase on a Lin story.
Federico called Lin one of his heroes - not just because he’s a big Knicks fan, but because he feels a kinship with a fellow “outspoken Christian.”
“My faith is my life,” he said. “I’d love to tell Jeremy what happened and explain that this was an honest mistake.”
California Congresswoman Judy Chu, an Asian American politician, said that “the ‘C’ word is just as bad as the 'n’ word when it comes to racial slurs, and she isn’t letting ESPN off the hook for using the term to describe NBA breakout star Jeremy Lin.” (New York Daily News). She said Monday that “the use of that term is appalling and offensive” on MSNBC.
While this unfortunately cost Federico’s career, the American audience is now becoming aware of the cultural sensitivity the Asian community faces when it comes to the word “Chink”. It is truly unfortunate that Federico lost his job over something that he did not intend. At least now he understands that the word has serious consequences when used in the wrong context - something many in the American public may not have known, scarily enough. Lin responded to the incident:
I don’t think it was on purpose or whatever, but they have apologized and so from my end I don’t care anymore. Have to learn to forgive and I don’t even think that was intentional. Or hopefully not.
Courtesy of New York Daily News writers Rheana Murray, Irving Dejohn and Helen Kennedy.
It might be that with Jeremy Lin, the NBA–with its stagnant audience and image problems–may have found an ideal, squeaky-clean star for bringing new fans to the sport.
But more than the just reviving the NBA, Lin’s squeaky-clean image is seen by companies as a holy opportunity.
“They say in the world of gems, the more facets the greater the design,” says Doug Scott, the CEO of Ogilvy Entertainment. “The fact that Jeremy has so many facets is a tremendous plus for him. The more relatable that he is, the better for the brand over time.”
So, the 60th Annual Grammy Nominations were announced yesterday morning, and somehow it left me with more mixed emotions than I’ve felt in a long time. On the one hand, we have many reasons to celebrate this year–the 2018 list of nominees is the most diverse group in all of Grammy history, especially when it comes to Black and LGBTQIA inclusion. Jay-Z, Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar, and more were all (deservedly) nominated for record of the year. Kesha and Lady Gaga were both nominated for two Grammys each, and out songwriter Justin Tranter was nominated for his first award as well.
When it comes to inclusion in the entertainment industry, we’ve come a long way, and these nominees are just one example of that. Unfortunately, this progress has not been reflected within the Asian American community, as you can clearly see by the lack of Asian nominees for the 2018 Grammys. I can’t say I’m surprised, considering there aren’t really any huge Asian American names in the music industry. But it’s not because we’re not trying–it’s because those who run the system aren’t listening. This year I got the chance to discover Alice Gao, Niki Zefanya, Yaeji, and several other incredible Asian artists whose music deserves recognition–but none of them are getting the attention they deserve.
While Grammy nomination entries can by submitted by any artists/record companies with commercially released music, all submissions are reviewed by a group of over 350 experts in the fields of jazz, R&B, rock, classical, new age, and more. These experts within the Academy go through several rounds of screening, being advised to vote in up to 15 categories in their areas of expertise as well as the 4 general categories (Record of The Year, Album of the Year, Song of The Year, and Best New Artist). Unfortunately, if you are a lesser known artist in the US (aka most Asian American artists) signed to a label with more well known artists, your label will most likely submit their song/album to be considered for Grammy nomination over yours. At the end of the day, it’s pretty much a self fulfilling prophesy. Since Asian American artists are almost never well known enough to qualify for the final rounds of nomination, their work is not often submitted. As a result, Asian Americans are continuously left out of the mainstream. The whole thing is a cycle that seems to have no end.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe we should celebrate the victories we achieve, but I’m honestly so tired of writing and complaining about Asian American representation. You guys have heard it all before and I’m not here to preach the same message all over again, but my soul is tired y’all. While we should celebrate and cheer on our fellow POC, let’s remember that the entertainment industry is still far, far, from being the all inclusive community that we so desperately need.
