International Playa

"I wanna make money off of my race but I don't wanna be criticized by it!"

Abraham Lincoln once said, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” Henry David Thoreau broke us down like this, “If you can speak what you will never hear, if you can write what you will never read, you have done rare things.” Big Momma standing in the door with her rag and old dirty house coat just said, “Sometimes you just need to shut up!”

Maybe Jeremy Lin never listened to his Big Momma or his nai nai, as she would be called in Chinese, but he should have. In a recent interview with Yahoo Sports! This dun said that he felt race was involved when asked about the criticism he’s getting because of his struggles on the court thus far this season. He also feels like he’s had to justify his 3 year $25 million contract along with his heritage.

What? Say that out loud 3 time’s bruh and tell me if that sounds as dumb as it did when you read it?  Lin is getting slammed because he’s not good not because he’s of Asian descent! However, on some real talk; the only reason Jeremy Lin has a 3 year $25 million contract is because of his race!! If his name was Jerome Lindsey he’d still be coming off of the bench in New York because he wouldn’t have become an international phenomenon if he were a black or white player. Why? Because there wouldn't have been anything special or unusual about the story.

That fact that he is of Asian descent made him the most popular player in the world during the two weeks in February that he came out of nowhere. He became an international superstar because he was the first player of Chinese or more specifically Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA, not because he could ball.  Sure, folks were gassed up because this kid was getting it in but “Linsanity” became a world wide brand because of his race!

Let’s keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1st! Jerome Lindsey would have been another cat in the NBA that would have gotten some love for coming off of the bench and helping the team in Mello’s absence and he would have sat back down when Mello came back. End of story.

So if you’re going to eat up the spotlight because of your race on the front end. You’ve got to deal with the criticism on the back end bruh! I say, be cool with the fact that you parlayed your race into a 3 year $25 million contract, a shoe deal,  multiple major endorsements and when the joint is up, take the money and your Harvard degree and bounce! Think about it, not too many cats can make that type of bread for essentially doing two weeks of work and becoming an international brand.

 I didn’t even mention the co-licensing deal that he has with Nike and Harvard. The deal will be an economic and brand building opportunity for Harvard in China! Almost 18% of the 6,657 undergraduates at Harvard are of Asian descent! So he is using his race to make money and that’s a straight up gangsta move! Folks are gonna hate anyway.

Why not get paid in the process but don't complain when boyz bring it up because your RACE is what’s feeding you homeboy! Be a G about it and take it in stride because the money is green and you've got it! Don’t ever forget that RACE is the reason you became an international player in the first place, Playa!

Folks are so afraid to discuss race in this country but our diversity is what makes it so great. Wouldn't it be boring and bland if everybody were the same around this piece? I'm always blown away when I hear people say that I don't see color! Ralph Ellison said it best in his 1952 novel, The Invisible Man, "To say that you don't see color is to say that you don't see me." So race is always on the table bruh, embrace it and everything that comes with it. Just don't be disrespectful about it!

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Get @ me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport