A reader writes:
Yes, Lin is not Tebow, who has been a remarkably entitled athlete throughout his career. (Your post forgot to mention the Heisman trophy and CFB championship trophy to go along with being a first round pick in the NFL draft.) Tebow is playing upon the sense of victimization that has emerged among evangelical Christians in recent years to craft a narrative of an athlete overcoming insurmountable obstacles through his faith. It sells.
Lin was overlooked at every stage of his career due to cultural stereotyping. He’s an athlete who achieved at the highest levels academically. He does not speak of himself in the third person, nor does he have an entourage. He was sitting at the end of the bench when the coach told him to get in the game. A Cinderella kid outta nowhere.
Another focuses on how the Lin story is uniquely racial:
I know you are not the biggest sports fan, but you also don't shy away from sensitive issues. And you pictured a tweet by Bill Simmons, who just discussed the issue of race in the Jeremy Lin story. Simmons and many other sportswriters argue the Lin phenomenon is not about race. Instead, they say Jeremy Lin is such a big story because so many teams passed on him, the Knicks were about to cut him, and now he is the biggest sensation in New York.
But why can't we admit that the fascination with Lin and the reason people are following his story is, almost entirely, a result of his race? Black men can run faster and jump higher than white men, asian men, hispanic men, etc.
Part of what makes Jeremy Lin exceptional is his race. If the NBA was filled with Chinese-Americans, this would be a far smaller story. It would also be a far smaller story if Jeremy Lin was a black player from Harvard. We expect black players to excel because experience has taught us that they do excel in the NBA.
Acknowledging the role of race in Jeremy Lin's story does not make us racist. It is racist to resent Jeremy Lin's success because he is Asian. To acknowledge race as the overriding factor in the public's fascination with Jeremy Lin is simply to speak the truth and deal with the world as it is.
The Dish 