Houston Rockets guard Jeremy Lin says his ethnicity led colleges, NBA to snub him

[realizm]

Caught this in the news today:

 

Houston Rockets point guard and former New York Knicks star Jeremy Lin made a formal statement saying that his ethnicity was why that in his younger years he was refused scholarships to major colleges and on top of that, why he was passed over during the NBA draft. He was interviewed by Charlie Rose in a recent broadcast of “60 Minutes” which will go on air this Sunday, where the Houston Rockets point guard was asked by the interviewer why he thought he did not get an opportunity to go with UCLA and Stanford to a state championship.

 

His answer:

 

“Well, the obvious thing in my mind is that I was Asian-American … I think that was a barrier.”

 

More: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/lin-ethnicity-hoops-barrier-article-1.1308956

 

 

 

Houston Rockets guard Jeremy Lin says his ethnicity led colleges, NBA to snub him  Lin was a high school star but did not land a major college scholarship, and he was not drafted by an NBA club

 

BY GINGER ADAMS OTIS / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS FRIDAY, APRIL 5, 2013, 4:14 PM

 

MITCHELL LAYTON/GETTY IMAGES Jeremy Lin during his college days. In an interview for “60 Minutes,” Lin says he was not offered a scholarship to a major college because he is Asian. He said his ethnicity is also the reason why he was undrafted coming out of Harvard.

 

Former New York Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin says his ethnicity is to blame for why he was not offered scholarships to major colleges and why he was passed over during the NBA draft.

 

In a “60 Minutes” interview that was excerpted Friday, the Houston Rockets point guard was asked why he didn’t get a free ride to play hoops at UCLA or Stanford after he led his high school team in Palo Alto, Calif., to a state championship.

 

“Well, the obvious thing in my mind is that I was Asian-American … I think that was a barrier,” Lin told interviewer Charlie Rose.

 

ROCKY WIDNER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES Lin made the most of his big break, playing sensationally for the New York Knicks last season and creating the phenomenon known as “Linsanity.”

CBS will air the full interview on Sunday. It explores his meteoric rise to fame after he came off the Knicks bench last spring as a relative unknown and created the phenomenon known as “Linsanity” with his remarkable play.

 

Ethnicity has no bearing on athletic skill, Lin says. But he acknowledges that outdated perceptions about race still exist.

“It’s just a stereotype,” he said.

 

ROCKY WIDNER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES Lin signed a three-year deal with the Houston Rockets in the offseason.

Lin said he believes that if he were white or black he would have gotten a scholarship to his dream school, Stanford. He went to Harvard, where no athletic scholarships are granted.

 

Lin was a standout for Harvard, but the 6-foot-4 guard wasn’t selected by any of the National Basketball Association’s 32 teams in the entry draft following his senior year in 2011.

 

He broke into the pro league by playing in summer-league games. He then bounced around for a bit, never making a name for himself, until he joined the Knicks and injuries gave him a chance to play major minutes in February 2011. He made the most of it, engineering a Knicks winning streak with a series of stellar performances that made him a fan favorite.

 

Lin left New York in the offseason when the Rockets offered him a three-year contract.

 

gotis@nydailynews.com

 

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/lin-ethnicity-hoops-barrier-article-1.1308956#ixzz2PhslXnBm

[alejr88]

Wow. That's all I can say..

[QM1to6Ave]

LOL @ his complaining about having to go to Harvard. I know some people that would kill for that

[Grand Concourse]

Agreed, but I do hope that if this 'snub' is true, then there will be more diversity in the NBA.

[Joe]

then there will be more diversity in the NBA.

 

Hah!  Such a move would undermine the entire reverse discrimination process.

[realizm]

Hah!  Such a move would undermine the entire reverse discrimination process.

 

Maybe you can actually elaborate on that for us.

[Joe]

Maybe you can actually elaborate on that for us.

 

With pleasure.  The goal of reverse discrimination is to help blacks.  Now, if they started refocusing that effort on other folks, cries of racism would be abundant.  Hypocritical as all hell, but who cares, right?

[realizm]

Right and we are talking about an Asian American issue. That is the obvious point of the article.

[realizm]

Maybe you should stay on topic or don't post at all. It would help instead of spewing your sarcastic racist comments over people of color.

especially in one of MY threads.

[Turbo19]

LOL @ his complaining about having to go to Harvard. I know some people that would kill for that

But would those same people want to attend an institution that doesn't specialize or even offer courses and/or suppoet in their field of study?

 

 

 

With pleasure.  The goal of reverse discrimination is to help blacks.  Now, if they started refocusing that effort on other folks, cries of racism would be abundant.  Hypocritical as all hell, but who cares, right?

Right, that makes a lot of sense, almost as much as your typical two sentence responses.

 

 

 

Right and we are talking about an Asian American issue. That is the obvious point of the article.

Furthermore, what he is essentially saying is that a major reason as to why Mr. Lin was held back was due to favoritism towards African Americans due to fear of racism cries from that ethnicity, which is certainly not the case.

 

 

 

Maybe you should stay on topic or don't post at all. It would help instead of spewing your sarcastic racist comments over people of color.

 

 

especially in one of MY threads.

Right on, let's keep it moving.

[QM1to6Ave]

But would those same people want to attend an institution that doesn't specialize or even offer courses and/or suppoet in their field of study?

I'm not sure what you mean--Harvard offers the same academics as any other school (perhaps with a few random majors as exceptions, like, agtriculture studies or something).

 

Lin still got to play basketbal at Harvard, and quite frankly, he is not the most amazing player compared to a lot of these NBA phenoms. Most players have to bounce around from team to team for a few years and many players never get that big breakthrough like he did, since ther eare only so many superstar players. 

[realizm]

Furthermore, what he is essentially saying is that a major reason as to why Mr. Lin was held back was due to favoritism towards African Americans due to fear of racism cries from that ethnicity, which is certainly not the case.

Truth. Dudes, listen to this guy, he knows.

 

Generally speaking many Asian Americans do experience discrimination in the form of the model minority myth and sexist/racist stereotypes, not just the men but particularly Asian women within the college and university circles, that's just to start. That's sort of what Turbo19 meant as a very insightful Mexican-American. It's a very complicated form of discrimination. It's no longer just simply a white on black issue. There are many aspects of what makes up the model minority myth which affects all Asian Americans including myself. That's where I'm sure Mr. Lin is coming from.

 

Many sociologists and Asian American activists went into depth into this problem publishing articles that are available now in hardcover books books and also published on the net on sites and as pdf. file documents. I can cite it if anyone likes.

[Turbo19]

If I may add, like you (Realizm) said, it's a very complicated form of discrimination, however in my opinion there isn't one sole factor as to why Asian Americans (or any other minorities for that matter) are discriminated against. I tell you this though, it sure as hell isn't by preferring another minority group.

 

Also, if you or anyone else can suggest any readings

 

Also, if you or anyone else can suggest any readings regarding the unfair treatment of Asian Americans I'd welcome the read.