#LinSanity and the Blackness of Basketball

#LinSanityand the Blackness of Basketball byDavid J. Leonard | NewBlackman
Overthe last week, there has been significant discussion about how race is playingout within the media and fan reception of Jeremy Lin. Focusing on anti-Asian slurs, prejudice, and stereotypes,the media narrative has not surprisingly provided a simplistic yet pleasurablenarrative. Imagining racism as simply bias that can be reduced through exposureand education, the media discourse has erased the powerful ways that sports teachesrace and embodies racism.  As HarryEdwards argues, sports recapitulates society, whether it be ideology orinstitutional organization.
Accordingto Marc Lamont Hill, professor of education at Columbia, "blackness is at thecenter" of the media's Linsanity. Seeing basketball as a space of blackness, "the whole undertone isirony, bewilderment and surprise." Harry Edwards, Sociology Professor emeritus at UC Berkeley, highlights thepredicable narrative, which reflects the fact that "we live in a niche society."  This encourages people to "retreat intotraditional storylines." Irrespective of facts or specifics, the deployed media narrative hasretreated to a place that depicts the NBA as a black-league defined byathleticism and hip-hop that is changing before our eyes.  The arrival of Jeremy Lin, who themedia continues to cast in the role of the "model minority" whose intellect,personality, and overall difference is providing the league with somethingotherwise unavailable, is constructed through a narrative black-Asian conflict.   
Replicating stereotypes, the undercurrent of the Linnarrative, the media inducted fantasy, has been his juxtaposition to theleague's black players.  "Discussionsabout the NBA are always unique because the NBA is one of the few spaces inAmerican society where blackness, and specifically black masculinity, is alwaysat the center of the conversation, even when it's not.  Power is often defined by that which isassumed, as opposed to that which is stated," noted Todd Boyd in an email tome.  "Because black masculinity isthe norm in the NBA, it goes without saying. Concurrently any conversationabout race in the NBA inevitably refers back to this norm.  In other words, people seldom describesomeone as a 'black basketball player' because the race of the player isassumed in this construction. 
Soany current discussion about Jeremy Lin is taking place within the context of aleague and its history where the dominant players have long been blackmen.  Lin is 'the other' as itwere, but here the standard is black, not white, as would normally be the casein most other environments."  From the constant references to his being "humble"and "team-oriented," to his widely circulated idea that he came out of no whereand that his career is one of low expectations and being overlooked,the media narrative has imagined him as the anti-black baller.  The stereotypes of both Asian Americansand blacks guide the media narrative. 
Accordingto Oliver Wang, "Some in the Asian American community are following"Linsanity" with caution, especially as commentators praise Lin forbeing "hard working," "intelligent" and "humble,"words associated with long-standing stereotypes of Asian Americans. ChuckLeung, writing for Slate.com, expressed the fear that "beneath this Linsanityis an invitation for others to preserve these safe archetypes."  Whereas black ballers aredefined/demonized with references to selfishness and ego, a sense ofentitlement that comes from societal fawning, Lin purportedly providessomething else. Compared to black players, who are defined through physicalprowess and athleticism, Lin, who is 6'3", extremely physical and athletic, themedia has consistently presented him as a "cerebral player" whose success comesfrom guile, intestinal fortitude, and determination, seemingly discounting hisphysical gifts and his talents on the floor.  Marc Lamont Hill noted a report that described Lin as a"genius on the pick n' roll." Continuously noting his Harvard education, hishigh school GPA, his college GPA, and his economics major all advance thenarrative of his exceptionalism and his presumed difference from the league'sother (black) players.  
On Weekendswith Alex Witt , Sports Illustrated columnist and Linfriend Pablo Torre celebrated Lin as a "student of the game," and as ananomaly.  Torre noted that Linwatches game footage at halftime, a practice he says isn't seen within the NBA.  While David West of theIndiana Pacers told me that watching footage is standard practice with the NBA,its usage here is just another example as how Lin is being positioned as NBAmodel minority and the desired body outside the sports arena.
Reflecting on the nature of this discourse, HiramPerez in an essay about Tiger Woods, describes "model minority rhetoric" as bothhomogenizing the Asian American experience through professed stereotypes andcelebration of Asian American accomplishments, but "disciplin[ing] the unrulyblack bodies threatening national stability during the post-civil rights era" (Perez,2005, p. 226).  The caricaturedand stereotyped media story with Lin illustrates this dual process, one thatreifies stereotypes concerning Asian Americans while at the same demonizingblackness.  Historically, the modelminority discourse has work to juxtapose homogenized identities, cultures, andexperiences associated with Asian Americans and African Americans. 
According to Anita Mannur, "in recent years AsianAmericans have been praised (in contrast to blacks and Latinos) for having'assimilated" so well" (Mannur,2005, p. 86).  In other words,Asian Americans exists as a "model minority" within the national imagination "becausethey [seen] are hard workers" who "do not make a fuss, and are not loud"(Mannur, 2005, p. 86).  Likewise,Feagin and Chou argue that, "Asian Americans serve as pawns in the raciallyoppressive system maintained at the top by whites" (2008, p. 17).  Functioning in a "middling status," (Feaginand Chou, 2008, p. 17) or as "racial bourgeoisie" (Matsuda qtd. in Feaginand Chou, 2008, p. 17), Asian Americans sit between whiteness and racial othernesswithin dominant racial discourse." The racial fantasy and the narrative offered through much of the mediareplicates these dominant frames with ease given the racial landscape of theNBA. 

Nancy Abelmann and John Lie encapsulate theinterconnectedness between model minority, racism, and the condemnation ofblackness: 
The American dream presents a problematic ideal ofindividual life and community. More crucially for our purpose, however, the constellation of attitudesand institutions that constitutes the American dream has found a powerfularticulation in the contrast between the model minority and the urbanunderclass: Korean Americans embody the American dream, while African Americansbetray its promise.  Theideological constitution and construction of the "black-Korean conflict" shouldalert us not only the importance of the broader political economy but also tothe necessity of rethinking dominant American ideologies (Abelmann& Lie, 1995: 179-180).
We can say that ultimately that America's love affairthe Jeremy Lin narrative is a love of what he purportedly says about America,about the American Dream, and model minority, all of which gains meaning inrelationship to blackness.
In this regard, his media power and rhetoricalutterances embodies an anti-blackness. In "Linis transcending race and helping to shatter stereotypes," Shaun Powelldefines Lin's powerful cultural message through accepted stereotypes of bothAsianness and blackness:
Lin was ignored in high school, wasn't drafted by anNBA team, couldn't stick with two of them, had to beat the bush leagues andthen slept on a sofa because he wasn't sure the Knicks would keep him. Then hecaught fire overnight. The first time he scored 38 points in a basketball gamein his life, it came against Kobe Bryant. Because nothing was ever expected ofhim, and no fuss was ever raised over him until a week ago, he isn't spoiled bynature. He's humble and free of the jersey-tugging, preening, gesturing,chest-thumping culture that has polluted sports and soured it for many. That'sall part of the legend and the lore by now, and that's why he's getting lots ofunderdog love.
In an article that deploysall of the main themes of the media's Linsanity  -- (1) Lin as facilitator of colorblindness, as stereotypefighter and dream maker; and (2) as a story of Lin's fortitude in overcomingdiscrimination  -- Powell focuseshis attention on recycling the model minority myth, a narrative fantasy thatgarners value through the demonization of black ballers.   Powell describes Lin "as a giftfrom the basketball gods to the NBA, which in the past dealt with racialbacklash when the league was considered too black to appeal to white America.That 'game' has changed, and because of Lin, there's plenty more distancebetween those days and now. Folks who seldom or never watched the NBA aresuddenly into the league and wondering what a certain player will do next." Depicting the league asundesirable and unwatchable for parts of white America, Powell celebrates Linas anecdote to cure the NBA's woes. He makes clear that the problems facing the NBA emanates from thefailure of its black players.  Whilehe argues that Lin shatters stereotypes he simultaneously invokes modelminority stereotype and the undesirable hip-hop (black) baller. "Becausenothing was ever expected of him, and no fuss was ever raised over him until aweek ago, he isn't spoiled by nature. He's humble and free of thejersey-tugging, preening, gesturing, chest-thumping culture that has pollutedsports and soured it for many. That's all part of the legend and the lore bynow, and that's why he's getting lots of underdog love."   Similarly JasonWhitlock positions Lin as the alternative tohip-hop within the NBA:
Lin's success, even if it disappears, should not bedismissed. There is something to be learned from the results of his play andthe absence of two star hip-hop, AAU athletes, 'Melo and Amar'e.
Yes, I played the hip-hop culture card. Hip-hopmusic is a capitalistic success. Hip-hop culture is an utter failure. Theme-first, rebellious, anti-intellect culture directly contradicts all thevalues taught in team sports and most of the values necessary to sustain acivilized society.
Ignoring the fact that Lin can often be seen attime-outs chest bumping with his teammates, ignoring the fact that he flossedhis jersey following a 3-pointer against Dallas, and the fact that he often "openshis mouth to reveal a Now and Later-stained tongue" Powell, Whitlock andothers demonstrates the ways in which racial fantasy operates here.  Lin is a product of and reflective ofthe hip-hop generation ballers yet Powell and others imagine him in oppositionto the polluting influences of the league's black ballers.  Todd Boyd makes this clear:
Consider the stereotypes about NBA playersand then consider the stereotypes about Asian Americans in our society.  Much of the public discussion about Linhas been informed, consciously or unconsciously, by the notion of the"model minority," which of course is a stereotype often used inrelation to Asian Americans.  Thisis not Lin saying such things about himself, but what others have projectedupon him.  With this in mind, anAsian American from the Bay Area who went to Harvard, is quite vocal about histraditional Christian beliefs, and who got cut a few times before finding hisniche, is always going to be easier to support for some people than a richurban black guy who whose style and whose actions suggest that he isindifferent to the dictates of mainstream society.  Though there are many people who are genuinely proud of Linfor all the right reasons, there are certainly others whose celebration of Linmasks some deeper resentment relative to their own perceptions about blackplayers. 
There is a lot to celebrate with Jeremy Lin.  He is ballin' and it's a greatstory.  The pride and celebrationthat his success has brought is equally powerful.  Yet, I am increasingly left with a sour taste in my mouthfrom the persistent efforts to rehash and recycle longstanding stereotypes ofboth Asian Americans and African Americans.  The celebration of Lin in this context is no celebration atall, but another racial fantasy that validates American exceptionalism and theAmerican Dream.  The mediadiscourse is saying much more about us than Lin himself or his game, which isabout tiresome as anything else. 
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David J. Leonard is Associate Professor in the Department of CriticalCulture, Gender and Race Studies at Washington State University, Pullman. Hehas written on sport, video games, film, and social movements, appearing inboth popular and academic mediums. His work explores the political economy ofpopular culture, examining the interplay between racism, state violence, andpopular representations through contextual, textual, and subtextual analysis. Leonard's latest book After Artest: Race and the Assault on Blackness will bepublished by SUNY Press in May of 2012.