Dr. Frank Guridy, the moderator, starts off with an insightful thought on the way race is portrayed through the media out fan perception of Jeremy Lin. The media focuses on the negative view people have towards Jeremy Lin while portraying him as a “model minority” in the NBA, (National Basketball Association) a league dominated by African Americans. In addition to the racial slurs, prejudice, and stereotypes that form from Jeremy Lin being Asian- American, the media and fans cannot deny the impact “Linsanity” has had on basketball and culture in general.
Eric Tang, one of discussion panel members, perceptive on the media coverage on “Linsanity” is that blackness is at the center of it. In people viewing blackness being an atmosphere in basketball, he states “the whole underline is irony, bewilderment and surprise”. Dr. Stephen Marshalls, another person on the panel, added to the conservation by stating the predictability of a very common narrative: black is basketball, that in fact “we live a niche society.” In spite of the facts or specifics, the common notion of media narrative presently has been to show the NBA as a black league represented through athleticism and hip hop. Since stunning people with his great skills on the court the media has consistently cast Jeremey Lin as a “model minority”. The reason for this is because of his personality, intelligence, and overall persona of providing something to the league that has never been available.
The last person on the discussion panel to talk was Dr. Naomi Paik. She talked about how the Asian-Americans are observing Linsanity with caution. Already, the praise he gets from commentators for being humble, hardworking, and intelligent are considered to be common attributes of Asian-Americans which the attributes are common stereotypes of Asian American. Dr. Naomi Pak has a fear that behind the Linsanity concept is a way for some to hold onto the stereotypes of Asians. Alternately when it comes from societal stereotypes over the black baler is having an ego, selfishness, and sense of entitlement. In comparing Lin to black players who are physically built and athletic, Lin is 6’3’’, physically and athletic gifted, but never given credit for it; instead he is credited for being a ‘cerebral player,’ stemming from determination and intestinal fortitude. Lastly Dr. Naomi Pak highlighted that his GPA in high school and his college graduate economic degree from Harvard all help advance his extraordinary difference from the league other black player.
I enjoyed going to the discussion there a lot to celebrate about Jeremy Lin no matter what race he is. He is currently playing great basketball and his back-story was really fascinating. However, the celebration of Lin that everyone can relate to is the celebration of Americans capability at achieving the American dream.