Media MonsterNBASports & Race

Jeremy Lin Is “Amasian,” According To The New York Post

Maybe you didn’t think it was possible, but the Jeremy Lin story shot right to another level last night (we’re at least in the thermosphere at this point) when Lin buried that three-pointer with .5 seconds left to beat the Toronto Raptors. And as Lin’s remarkable ascent continues, so must the puns made about him for headline purposes. Today, the New York Post needed two – one for the front page, one for the back. Here’s what they went with for the front. Conventional. Their back cover choice was… less so. Via CNN’s Jonathan Wald:

Well, you can’t say it didn’t get attention, and Post headlines are nothing if not unapologetic attempts to do just that – no matter what kind of attention it is. Some thought it was funny. Others thought it was tatseless. Still others wondered, well, what did you people expect from this paper anyway?

As far as Lin’s appeal goes – yes, being Asian-American (and therefore not looking like the vast majority of NBA players in history) is an undeniable part, which isn’t such a bad thing. There’s no use ignoring it. But then again, this back page goes beyond not ignoring it and makes it into, essentially, the whole story. And since they’re doing it in jokey pun form, it feels a little like they’re going (whether or not they meant to), “lol look at this Asian actually be good at sports” – which is to say, it feels a little gross.

And that’s too bad, since we’re pretty sure the Post not only bears no ill will toward Lin, but actively loves the guy – look how easy he’s making their jobs! Then again, maybe it’s not too bad, since the back page has already accomplished its goal of getting people to notice it. We’d say maybe the paper would have benefited from sticking to “Lin” name puns in this case… but the people who said “it’s the Post” were right. This is what they do, for better or worse.

So the best we can do is accept that this is the Post doing its thing, while also acknowledging that there are many other aspects to Lin’s story that make it as amazing as it is (the rarity of a Harvard grad making it big in the NBA, the fact that the guy came from absolutely nowhere to do what he’s doing, to name two). Oh, and wonder if the next time the Post needs a Lin headline, whether they’ll mash every pun together and go with “AmasiLIN.”